Dallas, USA , 8 February 2024 | Vivienne Christie

Dallas, USA

James Duckworth appears set to make his top-100 return after upsetting No.5 seed Christopher Eubanks to reach the quarterfinals of the Dallas Open.

Duckworth, who at world No.106 is ranked more than 70 places behind No.29 Eubanks, recorded a 7-6(3) 6-4 win in his second straight-sets win at the ATP 250 event.

It marked Duckworth’s first win over a top-50 opponent since he defeated world No.20 Roberto Bautista Agut at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters.

The Queenslander withstood 12 aces among 23 winners from the big-serving Eubanks and in an all-round clean performance, registered only three errors against 18 winners, including 10 aces of his own.

> READ: Aussies start strong at Dallas Open 

A sturdy Duckworth, who peaked at world No.46 early in the 2022 season, didn’t face a break point as he completed victory in 77 minutes.

The straight-sets progress sees Duckworth through to a second quarterfinal this season, matching his result at the Brisbane International earlier this year.

Rinky Hijikata also enjoyed a successful day in Dallas, with the world No.88 recording a straight-sets win over American wildcard Ethan Quinn in their first-round meeting.

Max Purcell bowed out to Marcos Giron in the second round, but returned alongside countryman Jordan Thompson to defeat Andrew Harris and Dominik Koepfer in the doubles.

> READ: Weekly wrap – Seven Australians feature in finals

Aussies in action – Dallas

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) d [WC] Ethan Quinn (USA) 6-4 6-4

Men’s singles, second round
James Duckworth (AUS) d [5] Christopher Eubanks (USA) 7-6(3) 6-4
Marcos Giron (USA) d [6] Max Purcell (AUS) 6-4 6-3

Men’s doubles, first round
Max Purcell(AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Andrew Harris (AUS)/Dominic Koepfer (GER) 7-6(6) 6-3
Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Williams Blumberg (USA) d Julian Cash (GBR)/Robert Galloway (USA) 3-6 6-3 [10-7]
Francisco Cabal (POR)/Henry Patten (GBR) d James Duckworth (AUS)/Alex Michelsen (USA) 6-3 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v [8] Dominik Koepfer
[7] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Denis Kudla (USA) or Radu Albot (MDA)

Men’s singles, quarterfinals
James Duckworth (AUS) v [4] Adrian Mannarino OR Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Max Purcell(AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v TBC
Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Williams Blumberg (USA) v TBC

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