The Aussie Showdown

It's usually not easy to play against a fellow countryman...

Duckworth tends to keep the same pattern throughout a season. He wins a match here and there, can put up a good fight in most of the "bigger matches", wins or goes deep in a Challenger every once in a while, but there is a lack of results at the ATP level. We saw him in a somewhat tricky first round match against Mayo in Los Cabos before losing 6-4, 6-4 to Norrie, which isn't that bad, in Los Cabos. O'Connell is someone who tends to be more streaky. Part of it has to do with him not being physically at his best (injuries) quite often... where he goes through tournament after tournament somewhat hampered. His grass season was decent, before losing in the first round to Andres Martin in Washington... I will cut him some slack since it was his first match back on hardcourts. My main focus will be his match against Faria yesterday in qualifying here in Montreal. I found him overall very solid... serve and forehand were great. I don't mind the matchup against Duckworth for him; both of them have quite a typical "Aussie playstyle", being good at slicing and playing at the net. Therefore, the fact that O'Connell comes into this match already warmed up in the conditions, while Duckworth has to adjust from very different conditions compared to Los Cabos, could prove to be quite a substantial advantage...