James Duckworth Defeats Lorenzo Sonego at Winston-Salem

James Duckworth finally cracked the Lorenzo Sonego code in Winston-Salem, and he did it with the timing of a player who knows a major is around the corner.

For two matches, the Italian had his number. Wimbledon 2021: straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Eastbourne 2022: another sting, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), decided in the tightest of margins on grass. Different year, different surface, same opponent — and the same nagging question.

Could Duckworth ever turn this matchup his way?

On Thursday in North Carolina, he answered it. Emphatically.

The 34-year-old Australian produced a composed, mature performance to oust Sonego 7-5, 6-3 at the ATP-250 event, booking his place in the quarterfinals and sending a timely message ahead of the US Open. This wasn’t just a win. It was a small piece of personal history rewritten.

Duckworth, ranked 79 in the world and safely into the main draw at Flushing Meadows, needed one hour and 44 minutes to clear the hurdle that had twice tripped him. He broke Sonego’s serve twice, but the real statement came on the big points. Three break points faced. Three break points saved. No wobble, no lapse.

The pressure built gradually. Sonego, usually so comfortable dictating against Duckworth, never quite found the same rhythm. The Australian held firm, waited for his moments, and when they came, he struck cleanly. The 7-5 first set felt like a door finally pushed open. The 6-3 second set was a player walking confidently through it.

Next up is 15th seed Fabian Marozsan, the Hungarian who had to come from behind to beat American wildcard Martin Damm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Marozsan can hurt opponents with his timing and variety, but Duckworth arrives with momentum and a sense that his game is peaking at just the right time.

While Duckworth surged, fellow Australian Rinky Hijikata ran into a buzzsaw.

Benjamin Bonzi delivered a ruthless 6-1, 6-1 beating that lasted just 57 minutes, a demolition that left Hijikata with no real foothold in the match. Bonzi’s numbers told the story: he won a staggering 96 per cent of points behind his first serve and converted five of seven break points. Hijikata barely had a look.

Every short ball was punished. Every half-chance vanished in a blur of clean hitting. Hijikata’s hopes of a quarterfinal berth didn’t just fade; they were ripped away in under an hour.

Elsewhere in Winston-Salem, Britain’s top hope Arthur Fery, the number four seed, did exactly what a seed is supposed to do at this stage of the week. No fuss, no drama, just a controlled 6-3, 6-3 win over qualifier Mees Rottgering to move into the latter rounds.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, though, will not be joining him.

The seventh seed saw his campaign cut short by American Aleksander Kovacevic, who posted a sharp 6-3, 7-6 (1) victory. Tsitsipas forced the second-set tiebreak but was swept aside there, winning just a single point as Kovacevic seized his moment on home soil.

So the Australian story in Winston-Salem splits in two: Hijikata outclassed, Duckworth resurgent.

For Duckworth, with the US Open looming and his place in the main draw already secured, the question now is simple: was this just overdue revenge, or the start of something bigger in New York?