Duckworth credits influence of new coach for stunning form revival | 25 June, 2024 | All News | News and Features | News and Events [Video]

London, Great Britain, 25 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers

James Duckworth had two of his Australian peers providing courtside support as he recorded a hard-fought opening-round win in the Wimbledon 2024 men’s qualifying singles competition.

Alex Bolt, who earlier had recorded an impressive victory of his own, and Andrew Harris were in Duckworth’s corner as he triumphed 6-7(8) 6-2 6-4 against German Benjamin Hassan.

“It was a super tough match,” Duckworth told tennis.com.au. “That first set was really difficult, I didn’t get many chances on his serve throughout the set and then the tiebreak I obviously had a couple of chances. I was disappointed with a couple of unforced errors on my set points, but I was really happy with the way I bounced back in the second and third. I really turned up my aggression and I thought that was the difference in the end.”

Harris, a 30-year-old from Melbourne, peaked at world No.84 in doubles last year and was an Australian Open mixed doubles semifinalist in January. …