Sportal.eu

When Jannik Sinner plays at the Australian Open: background with Duckworth

Getty Images

Jannik Sinner will return to the court on Thursday, January 22 at 9 a.m. Italian time for the second round of the Australian Open 2026. On Rod Laver Arena, the Italian will face Australian James Duckworth (34), current world number 88. James Duckworth’s career-best ranking was world number 46 in January 2022. During his career he has had 73 wins and 122 losses on the major circuit. He has never gone beyond the second round in Melbourne.

Claudia FerrariniGaston vents after his match with Jannik Sinner: “I couldn”

Hugo Gaston vents after match lost to Jannik Sinner
The French tennis player was forced to retire in the first round of the Australian Open
Gaston, down 6-2 6-1, had to surrender at the end of the second set due to an abdominal problem
"My abs gave out after a while'"
"I don’t remember exactly the moment, but it was in the middle of the first set"

"I asked for an anti-inflammatory, but I had discomfort at every service"

"C'is great disappointment, I could not afford to play 50% and I stopped"

"Even at 100%, beating Jannik is virtually impossible"

"C'is frustration and sadness, because playing against Jannik, especially on a field like that, doesn’t happen every day"

"Before I was happy to be there, trying to enjoy the moment, to have fun"

"Now I hope the'injury is not serious, I have to focus on that"

For Jannik Sinner this is an important match on his way to title confirmation. The Italian tennis player is going for his third consecutive Australian Open, and the goal is to grow in condition match by match. The debut in Melbourne was positive but peculiar: the match against Frenchman Hugo Gaston ended earlier than expected because of the opponent’s withdrawal in the third set, after the’Alto Adige native had won the second partial.

Despite the short duration of the match, Jannik Sinner showed that he already had a good feel for the court and the ball, even experimenting with new solutions that proved effective. On the court he tried to diversify his game from his usual one, using the short ball more often and trying to finalize at the net on more occasions. Choices that certify the desire to further improve his game and become an increasingly complete tennis player.

The previous records between Jannik Sinner and James Duckworth are three, with the Italian ahead 2-1. The last confrontation was back in 2021, in the quarterfinals of the Sofia tournament. On that occasion, Jannik Sinner won in two sets (7-6, 6-4 the match’s partials).

Previously, James Duckworth won in the 32nd round of the ATP 1000 in Canada, in Toronto. Also in 2021 (6-3, 6-4), while in 2020, at the first face-off, Jannik Sinner had dominated on indoor concrete in Cologne (6-1, 6-2). In Melbourne, the Italian starts as the favorite but will have to play at his best to avoid nasty surprises. Also because Carlos Alcaraz is going dispatched.

Tags:

You may also like...