James Duckworth Overcomes Sonego Challenge at Winston-Salem

James Duckworth finally found a way through his Lorenzo Sonego problem, and he did it at exactly the right time.

At Winston-Salem, in the last tune‑up before the US Open, the Australian snapped a two-match losing streak against the Italian with a composed 7-5, 6-3 win that carried a hint of revenge and a lot of reassurance.

Third time lucky

Sonego had been a genuine roadblock in Duckworth’s career. Their first meeting came on one of tennis’s grandest stages, Wimbledon 2021, where the Italian swept him aside in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round. A year later on the grass of Eastbourne, Duckworth fought harder but still walked away second best, edged 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1).

This time, Duckworth refused to let it slip.

Across one hour and 44 minutes, the 34-year-old dictated the big moments. He broke Sonego twice, never surrendered his own serve, and stared down all three break points he faced. The margins weren’t huge on the scoreboard, but they were decisive in the rallies. When the pressure rose, it was Duckworth who held firm.

For a player ranked 79 in the world and already locked into the main draw at Flushing Meadows, this was more than just another ATP-250 win. It was a reminder—to himself as much as anyone else—that he can still outthink and outlast dangerous opponents on hard courts heading into the year’s final grand slam.

His reward is a quarterfinal against 15th seed Fabian Marozsan, the Hungarian who recovered from a ragged start to beat American wildcard Martin Damm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. A place in the semifinals is now on the line, and Duckworth arrives with rhythm and a settled game.

Hijikata blown away

If Duckworth’s day built towards quiet satisfaction, Rinky Hijikata’s ended in a brutal hurry.

The 23-year-old Australian ran into a red‑hot Benjamin Bonzi and was swept aside 6-1, 6-1 in just 57 minutes. Bonzi barely put a foot wrong. He landed his first serve, and when it went in, the points were almost over before they started—he won a staggering 96 per cent of those points.

Hijikata simply never got a foothold. Five breaks of serve from seven chances told the story of Bonzi’s relentless pressure. The match felt less like a contest and more like a statement from the Frenchman, who played with the kind of clarity and precision that leaves opponents staring at the scoreboard, wondering how it unraveled so quickly.

Seeds scattered

Around them, the draw continued to tilt and shift.

Britain’s Arthur Fery, the fourth seed and standard-bearer for his nation this week, eased into the next round with a professional 6-3, 6-3 win over qualifier Mees Rottgering. No fuss, no drama—just clean hitting and a controlled performance that underlined his seeding.

On the other side of the ledger, Stefanos Tsitsipas’s campaign ended earlier than expected. The seventh seed fell 6-3, 7-6 (1) to American Aleksander Kovacevic, who seized his chance in the tiebreak and never looked back. For a player of Tsitsipas’s stature, it was a sharp reminder of how unforgiving these pre‑slam weeks can be.

So Winston-Salem rolls on with Duckworth still swinging, Hijikata sent packing, and the seeds wobbling. With New York looming, who uses this week as a springboard—and who leaves it with more questions than answers?