All week, Australia’s James Duckworth has bucked the odds in Kazakhstan, but his progress towards just a second ATP Tour final was ended one match short by former world number one Daniil Medvedev.
Duckworth had rattled off five victories in seven days at the Almaty Open after progressing through qualifying and later knocking out the number seven seed Gabriel Diallo, of Canada, and then defeating Italian number three seed — and world number 22 — Flavio Cobolli.
On Saturday, he went toe to toe with number two seed Medvedev in the semi-finals, winning a gripping tiebreaker to take the first set, before the Russian came back to win 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-2.
Duckworth reached the final in Almaty four years ago but his age (33), injury record and world ranking (number 138) suggested a repeat was improbable.
Medvedev, who had won their only other meeting, admitted he was pleased to win after being pushed so hard by Duckworth.
“I think the level was incredible today, from both me and my opponent,” he said.
“In the tie-break, I could have played better, but it happens. Throughout the match there were some amazing points from both of us, so I’m really happy to be able to win this match.”
Duckworth’s superb week moved him up to number 108 on the ATP live rankings.
Medvedev has had a turbulent year, including a big fine for a meltdown during his first-round defeat at the US Open, and he is aiming to win his first tour-level title since Rome in 2023.
His form has picked up in recent weeks though, and by reaching his 40th tour-level final, he has become the second active male player after Novak Djokovic (143) to achieve that feat.
In Sunday’s final he will face France’s Corentin Moutet, the number eight seed, who beat Alex Michelsen of the US in straight sets.
AAP