James Duckworth Defeats Lorenzo Sonego in Winston-Salem
James Duckworth finally cracked the Lorenzo Sonego code in Winston-Salem, and he did it with the timing of a player who knows a major is just around the corner.
For two matches, the Italian had his number. Wimbledon 2021: straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Eastbourne 2022: another sting, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), decided by the thinnest of margins on grass. Same opponent, same frustration.
This time, Duckworth walked off with a 7-5, 6-3 win, a place in the quarterfinals, and the feeling that a nagging chapter of his career had finally been edited.
Duckworth turns the tide
On Thursday in Winston-Salem, the 34-year-old Australian needed one hour and 44 minutes to flip the script in their rivalry. He broke Sonego twice, guarded his own serve with real conviction, and stared down all three break points he faced.
No wobble. No late fade. Just solid, purposeful tennis from a man who knows his window at the top level doesn’t stay open forever.
Ranked 79 in the world, Duckworth has already secured direct entry into the US Open main draw. This week’s ATP-250 event is more than a tune-up; it’s a chance to arrive in New York with rhythm and belief. Beating a player who had twice beaten him, and in straight sets, ticks both boxes.
The first set turned on the small details that had cost him in their previous meetings. Duckworth held firm in the tight moments, then pounced when Sonego blinked. Once he had the opener, the Australian loosened up, hitting through the court and keeping the Italian chasing.
The pressure told. Sonego never found the sustained surge that had undone Duckworth on grass.
Now comes another test: 15th seed Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian came from a set down to beat American wildcard Martin Damm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and he brings a disruptive game that can trouble anyone on a hard court. Their quarterfinal is not just about a semifinal spot in Winston-Salem. For Duckworth, it’s about carrying this sharpness straight into Flushing Meadows.
Hijikata blown away by Bonzi
If Duckworth’s day carried a sense of redemption, Rinky Hijikata’s was over almost before it began.
Benjamin Bonzi walked on court and barely missed a ball. The Frenchman tore through their match 6-1, 6-1 in just 57 minutes, a demolition that left Hijikata with no foothold and no time to adjust.
Bonzi’s numbers told the story. He won 96 per cent of points behind his first serve and converted five of his seven break-point chances. Every short ball was punished, every tentative service game exposed. Hijikata, usually such a scrapper, simply never got the rally patterns he needed.
It was the kind of loss that stings, but also the kind that can be parked quickly with a major on the horizon. The margins at this level are brutal; on this day, Bonzi hit the bullseye from first ball to last.
Ups and exits elsewhere in the draw
Around them, the draw in Winston-Salem shifted again.
Arthur Fery, the top British player in the field and number four seed, did exactly what a seed is supposed to do at this stage of the week. He handled qualifier Mees Rottgering 6-3, 6-3, moving through without fuss and without burning unnecessary energy.
For Stefanos Tsitsipas, there was no such comfort. The seventh seed saw his campaign cut short by American Aleksander Kovacevic, who struck cleanly and stayed composed in a 6-3, 7-6 (1) win. The tiebreak was ruthless, a statement from a player still carving out his place on tour.
So the Australian story in Winston-Salem splits in two: Duckworth, surging into the last eight with revenge in his pocket and New York in his sights; Hijikata, forced to regroup after a harsh lesson from a red-hot Bonzi.
The question now is simple: can Duckworth turn one cathartic win into a full-blown run, right as the season’s final grand slam comes into view?
