World number 86 Australian James Duckworth looks to improve on all his previous efforts at the biggest Grand Slam of them all Wimbledon when he takes on Tunisian world number 83 Malek Jaziri in a first round match. Join The Roar from 8:30pm (AEST) for live scores of this game.
Jaziri has had a pretty ordinary year to date, winning only 10 of 27 matches he has taken part in since the beginning of the calendar year. His grass court form has been equally as poor, winning only two from five games across three tournaments. Most of the games he lost however are games he should have been winning and that will be incredibly worrying for Jaziri.
The 31-year-old from Tunisia made his debut at Wimbledon in 2012 making it to the second round, before returning again in 2014 getting knocked out in the first round. He made the third round at the 2015 Australian Open which is his best performance to date in any Grand Slam. It is hard to see him improving on past Wimbledon results based on form leading up to The Championships.
Duckworth meanwhile, doesn’t have incredible results at Wimbledon but is an ever improving player being just 23 years of age in comparison to Jaziri’s 31. He has made two appearances at Wimbledon being bundled out of the first round on both occasions. His best ever performance in a Grand Slam is three second round exits at the Australian Open.
His form on grass, interestingly is nothing. He has not played since a first round, five-set loss in the French Open. This does make it hard to assess form however according to reports he is training hard and should give getting to the second round a really good shake. Overall on grass he wins about 61 per cent of his games, which is in line with his career average.
Duckworth and Jaziri met once last year, with Jaziri recording a straight sets victory in qualifying for an event in Shanghai, 6-4, 6-4. This obviously means the pair have never faced off in a Grand Slam or at Wimbledon.
Whilst the betting odds have Jaziri as a slight favourite for this game it promises to be a cracker. Jaziri has experience on his side but Duckworth does have a better record on the grass courts than Jaziri.
Prediction: Despite having no form what so ever, the youth and superior grass court record of Duckworth could get him through this. He doesn’t know what it is like to get to the second round at Wimbledon and that will make him more motivated than ever. However, I do see it being a close game going the whole way to five sets.
Duckworth in five sets.
Join The Roar for live scores of this first round match from 8:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re following along with the action.
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