Duckworth defeats world No.23 Darderi in Almaty upset
The 34-year-old Australian downed Italy's Luciano Darderi 7-5 7-6 in his strongest victory of 2025.
James Duckworth beat second-seeded Luciano Darderi, ranked 50 places ahead at world No.23, with a dominant display of 37 winners and 17 aces. The win sends the veteran into a quarter-final and continues his remarkable resurgence after years of injury battles.
Duckworth has climbed back into the world top-100 and is now comfortably Australia's No.2 men's player behind Alex de Minaur. Almaty seems to bring out his best: he also reached the semi-finals here last year and his only ATP final appearance in this Kazakhstan event in 2021.
- 34
- Duckworth age
- 16
- Years as pro
- World No.23
- Opponent ranking
- 7-5 7-6
- Match score
Why it mattersAt 34 after 16 years as a pro, Duckworth has rebuilt his career from setbacks that could have ended it.
AustraliaDuckworth's resurgence strengthens Australia's depth on the ATP Tour and gives fans another home hope at international tournaments.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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