- Alex de Minaur will play his fellow Australian at Wimbledon
- The men’s ninth seed has drawn James Duckworth
- Play at the All England Club begins Monday, July 1
Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur is hoping to play his first round match against in-form fellow Australian James Duckworth following the post-draw drama at the All England Club.
Ninth seed De Minaur had originally faced unpredictable French player Corentin Moutet in Friday’s draw, putting him on track for a quarterfinal clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
But less than three hours after the draw was completed, Moutet withdrew from the Championship with a wrist injury, offering a dream opportunity for Duckworth, who had been eliminated in the final qualifying round, to play fellow Sydneysider of Minaur as a “lucky loser.”
But while Moutet, world number 55, had promised to be an unpredictable stylish opponent, Duckworth, the world number 78 who is resurgent at 32 after an injury-interrupted career, poses just as much danger to De Minaur, having recently reached a quarter-final on the grass of Stuttgart.
De Minaur won their only previous meeting.
With at least one Australian assured of a second-round spot, de Minaur remains the favourite to face 17th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round if the Canadian gets past another Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis, in the first round.
A possible titanic fourth-round date with Hubert Hurkacz would also have to be negotiated for ‘Demon’ before a showdown with Novak Djokovic.
In the women’s singles, Australian wild card Ajla Tomljanovic, who reached the final of the Birmingham Classic, will face another Wimbledon duel with former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, three years after they met in a tense fourth-round duel. round in SW19.
Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur is hoping to play his first round match against his compatriot James Duckworth
James Duckworth has replaced injured French player Corentin Moutet as a “lucky loser”
In that match, won in three sets by the Australian, the fiery Latvian called Tomljanovic the “worst player on the Tour” after she was accused of faking an injury.
It all ended with Ostapenko confronting Tomljanovic at the net and telling him: “Your behavior is terrible, terrible. You have no respect.”
But Tomljanovic insisted on Friday there was no longer any bad blood between the pair after they met (and were beaten) by Ostapenko at Eastbourne in 2022 and at this year’s Australian Open.
“I would say we are calm,” Tomljanovic said. “Look, for me, what happened is in the past.”
Australian No. 1 Daria Saville faces American Peyton Stearns, while Olivia Gadecki, who said it was a “dream come true” to reach the main draw, will play a knockout battle against American teenager Robin Montgomery.
With Duckworth’s late inclusion, 11 Australian men feature in the singles draw, with qualifier Alex Bolt getting the toughest task against Norway’s eighth seed Casper Ruud as reward for fighting through an incredible qualifying week.
The 31-year-old South Australian was called up to the field at Roehampton on Monday as a substitute following the late withdrawal of another player just 10 minutes before he was due to come on.
Bolt won all three of his matches, including a comeback from two sets down and a match point down in his last meeting on Thursday against Swiss Leandro Riedi, and now faces two-time French Open finalist Ruud.
Reigning men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz will make his debut on Monday against Estonian Mark Lajal, and Australian Aleksandar Vukic could face him if he can overcome the tough Austrian Sebastian Ofner.
