De Minaur fights past Duckworth in all-Aussie Montreal battle

AFP | Montreal

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Alex de Minaur blew through the opening set but needed some good luck in the second to emerge with a 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) opening win over James Duckworth at the ATP Montreal Masters.

De Minaur, seeded third, hasn't lost to a fellow Aussie in four years, but he was made to work hard by his 86th-ranked compatriot to keep that streak alive.

The second-round match turned in an instant in the second-set tiebreaker when a return which rolled off the top of the net handed de Minaur a match point after he saved six set points for his opponent.

“A little bit of luck went my way in the tiebreaker,” de Minaur said. “He was hitting me off the court in the second set, but I got lucky and managed to sneak away with the tiebreaker.