Stuttgart, Germany, 9 June 2021 | Leigh Rogers

STUTTGART, GERMANY

James Duckworth has qualified for an ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart.

The 29-year-old Australian scored a hard-fought 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5 victory against Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in the final qualifying round. Ivashka served 27 aces in the two-hour and 31-minute battle, but Duckworth found a way to overcome the world No.90 and score his first top-100 win on grass since 2015.

It is the second time in his career that world No.101 Duckworth has qualified at a tour-level grass-court event, having last done so at Wimbledon in 2014.

Duckworth becomes the fifth Australian man in the main draw, joining Alex de Minaur, John Millman, Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson.

Aussies in action – Stuttgart

RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
James Duckworth (AUS) d [8] Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5

Men’s doubles, first round
[WC] Yannick Hanfmann (GER)/Dominik Koepfer (GER) d Luke Saville (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-1 4-6 [10-7]

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
[4] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Bye
[8] John Millman (AUS) v [Q] Peter Gojowczyk (GER)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Guido Pella (ARG)
[Q] James Duckworth (AUS) v [7] Adrian Mannarino (FRA)

NOTTINGHAM, UK

Aleksandar Vukic has won an all-Australian battle in the opening round of an ATP Challenger event in Nottingham, defeating close friend Marc Polmans in three sets. Vukic served 18 aces in a 7-6(10) 4-6 6-3 victory that took two hours and 21 minutes.

Matt Ebden also advanced to the second round with a straight-sets win against British wildcard Ryan Peniston.

In WTA 250 action, Lizette Cabrera lost a tight encounter against No.16 seed Zarina Diyas in three sets. The 23-year-old from Queensland was aiming to score a first top-100 win since January 2020, but fell just short.

Aussies in action – Nottingham

RESULTS
Women’s singles, second round
[16] Zarina Diyas (KAZ) d Lizette Cabrera (AUS) 4-6 6-3 6-4

Women’s doubles, first round
Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove (NED)/Sabrina Santamaria (USA) d [1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Zhang Shuai (CHN) 6-4 7-6(3)

Men’s singles, first round
[Q] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) d Marc Polmans (AUS) 7-6(10) 4-6 6-3
[Q] Matt Ebden (AUS) d [WC] Ryan Peniston (GBR) 6-4 6-4

Men’s doubles, first round
Matt Reid (AUS)/Ken Skupski (GBR) d Mackenzie McDonald (USA)/Brandon Nakashima (USA) 6-4 2-6 [11-9]
Marc Polmans (AUS)/Artem Sitak (NZL) d [WC] Liam Broady (GBR)/Ryan Peniston (GBR) 6-2 7-6(2)

COMING UP
Women’s singles, second round
Arina Rodionova (AUS) v [4] Zhang Shuai (CHN)

Women’s doubles, first round
[2] Storm Sanders (AUS)/Caroline Dolehide (USA) v Lauren Davis (USA)/Catherine McNally (USA)

Men’s singles, second round
[Q] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v [8] Kamil Majchrzak (POL)
[Q] Matt Ebden (AUS) v [1] Dan Evans (GBR)

Men’s doubles, first round
[2] Matt Ebden (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Evgeny Donskoy (RUS)/Kamil Majchrzak (POL)
Max Purcell (AUS)/Marc-Andrea Huesler (SUI) v Maxime Cressy (USA)/Andrea Vavassori (ITA)
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Jay Clarke (GBR) v Thomas Fabbiano (ITA)/Andreas Seppi (ITA)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Matt Reid (AUS)/Ken Skupski (GBR) v TBC
Marc Polmans (AUS)/Artem Sitak (NZL) v TBC