Alex de Minaur has beaten fellow Australian James Duckworth in straight sets in a rain-interrupted first round Wimbledon clash decided by tie breaks.
The No.9 seed’s 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win in three hours was one of three Australian victories on day two, doubling the number of Antipodeans qualifying for the second round.
In a match played at an odd rhythm, de Minaur broke his less-fancied opponent in the first set but failed to win a point while trying to serve it out.
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He lost the first point in the tie-break before promptly winning seven in a row to take the set and establish a pattern for the match.
After an extended rain delay in the second set, it was Duckworth’s turn to squander a break before de Minaur again seized control in the tie-break, winning six points in a row to claim it 7-3.
On commentary, Todd Woodbridge wondered whether this would be the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.
It wasn’t to be, with the world No.81 showing flashes of promise but seeming to back off the aggression when handed a chance and failing to make them count.
After another, shorter, rain delay Duckworth again went up early in the third set but de Minaur eventually wrestled that advantage back to trigger yet another tie-break, which he won 7-4.
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Wimbledon debutant Adam Walton had an easier time of it against Argentine world No.72 Frederico Coria 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
It was a no-nonsense display from the Aussie world No.101 as he won almost four out of five points on his second serve and kept it to just 24 unforced errors.
Alexei Popyrin was pushed much harder by Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro on Court 9 but managed to pull off a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-4 win.
The Aussie world No.47 was almost unplayable on his first serve, slamming down 24 aces and winning nine out of 10 points.
He also doubled his lower-ranked opponent’s winner count before serving out the final game of the match to love, fittingly with two aces in a row.
It was a much harder day at the office for Australia’s women as Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadecki crashed out to much higher ranked opponents.
Tomljanovic, who has a history with her opponent Jelena Ostapenko dating back to a fiery argument when they met at Wimbledon in 2021, managed just seven winners in a 6-1, 6-2 defeat.
She’ll be hoping for better results later in the year as she gets more match practice on her comeback from a serious knee injury.