Duckworth advances at Citi Open, Tomic loses in Los Cabos
James Duckworth has scored a crucial win at the Citi Open in Washington as he tries to claw his way back up the ATP rankings.
The Australian, who was once ranked 82 in the world, has slipped to No.654 after a prolonged absence on tour due to foot, shoulder and elbow surgeries.
The 26-year-old Sydneysider beat local Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 6-3, 7-5 to set up a second round encounter with compatriot Nick Kyrgios.
Kyrgios is the tournament's No.5 seed and received a bye into the next round.
In a closely fought affair, Duckworth sent down 13 aces to Kwiatkowski's 12 and clinched the only two break points of the match.
Despite a gallant effort, fellow Australian Jordan Thompson bowed out in the first round in a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) loss to Jared Donaldson.
Thompson, the world No.97, went toe-to-toe with his higher-ranked opponent (No.62) before succumbing in the second-set tiebreaker.
Also in action is Alex de Minaur, who is playing Canada's Vasek Pospisil for a berth in the second round, and Alex Bolt up against Tommy Paul.
Meanwhile in Los Cabos, Bernard Tomic suffered a straight-sets loss to Egor Gerasimov in the first round of the Los Cabos Open.
The Australian world No.153 was unable to take advantage of any of his four break point chances in the one hour 10 minute match, losing 6-4, 6-3 to his lower-ranked Belarusian opponent.
Tomic’s win-loss record in 2018 is 4-6 at ATP Tour and grand slam level with the one-time world No.17 having played more matches in qualifying after his rankings slide since last year.
AAP