Alex de Minaur vs James Duckworth Prediction: The battle of the Australians

Atlanta is a place for great sporting venues and in the past, it has hosted the Summer Olympics in 1996. The USA has historically been a great treasure trove of tennis athletes that have rocked the world with their great play. However, in this game, we will see a couple of Australians in play as Alex de Minaur will take on James Duckworth.

Alex is the 30th-ranked player in the world and he has been a 15th-ranked player last year, reaching that ranking in June 2021. Alex is one of the fastest players in the world and his speed and agility have been in great flow throughout his career. He loves engaging in long rallies, and his ability to chase long balls is incredible, making him a modern “counterpuncher”, like Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

Alex managed to reach the Round of 16 during Wimbledon and has been in great company when it comes to being top athletes representing different nations. He is the number one ranked Australian player and that has been the case for a long time indeed. Against top players, his frailties related to keeping up a defensive game have been exposed at times, as he tends to get out of attacking positions. However, against players that are not in the top rankings, Alex has proven to be more than a handful.

Unlike Alex who is a top 30 player and still 23, 30-year-old Duckworth has never made it to the top thirty rankings. He is currently placed at 62 and has never gone past the 47th ATP rank ever in his career. Success in the Grand Slam has eluded him and usually, his campaign has ended in the first round itself. Apart from that, he has remained a sound challenger for most parts, taking the fight to top-ranked players like Lorenzo Sorengo and Andy Murray.

James can fool opponents with a variety of serves and has a powerful groundstroke game, which enables him to be strong while responding to serves. However, against top opponents, he is unable to sustain his rhythm and is unable to outlast them in long battles. He comes into this game after defeating Dominik Koepfer 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, where he notched a first serve win% of 79, extracting a 66-48 service points advantage

Alex has a tendency to dictate the pace of the game at the times but he isn’t among the most aggressive players. Duckworth comes with a ton of experience but he hasn’t had the success that can intimidate top players. Alex is quicker and more agile than Duckworth which gives him an advantage. A win in three sets for Alex is my prediction.