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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Holger Rune vs (Q) James Duckworth
Date: January 5, 2024
Tournament: Brisbane International 2024
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Outdoor hard
Prize money: $661,585
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Sky Sports
Holger Rune vs James Duckworth preview
Top seed Holger Rune will square off against qualifier James Duckworth in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Brisbane International on Friday.
After battling past Max Purcell in three sets, Rune took on Alexander Shevchenko in the second round. The Dane put himself in the lead courtesy of a break in the seventh game of the first set.
Shevchenko later fended off a set point for a hold of serve, but Rune served out the set himself in the following game. The latter served to force a tie-break at 6-5 in the second set but dropped his serve, and with it, the set slipped out of his hands.
Rune regrouped quite well after the second set stumble as he quickly leaped to a 4-0 lead in the decider. He kept Shevchenko at bay and soon wrapped up the proceedings to win 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Duckworth came through the qualifying rounds and then ousted J.J. Wolf in straight sets to reach the second round, where Yannick Hanfmann awaited him. The Australian put himself in the lead courtesy of a break in the first set.
Duckworth served for the set at 5-4 but needed to save a couple of break points before he was able to clinch it. He was outplayed in the second set as he could only manage to secure one game for himself in it.
Duckworth then saved a couple of match points at 5-4 in the decider and managed to take the set into a tie-break. He outfoxed Hanfmann with ease to score a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(2) win.
Holger Rune vs James Duckworth head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Holger Rune vs James Duckworth odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Holger Rune vs James Duckworth prediction
Rune had to fight his way to the quarterfinals as he was pushed to three sets in both of his matches here. But the young Dane rose to the occasion and vanquished his challengers to advance further.
Rune fired 12 aces, struck 39 winners, and saved five of the six break points that he faced against Shevchenko in the last round. Duckworth had a pretty good day on serve too, as evidenced by the 22 aces he rained down against Hanfmann.
However, Duckworth has struggled against top players in the past. He has lost all 10 of his encounters against top 10 opposition and has managed to snag just four sets for himself against them. While Rune has had his issues here, he should be able to make his way past the Australian a bit more easily.
Pick: Holger Rune to win in straight sets.
