Stuttgart, Germany, 10 June 2021 | Leigh Rogers

STUTTGART, GERMANY

Australia’s Jordan Thompson is through to the second round at an ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart, where he’ll face compatriot and Davis Cup teammate Alex de Minaur.

Thompson scored a 6-3 6-4 win against Argentina’s Guido Pella in the opening round, with the 27-year-old losing only 13 points on serve in the 74-minute victory.

De Minaur, who had a first-round bye, has a 2-1 win-loss record against Thompson at tour-level. However, Thompson won their most recent meeting on ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass in June 2019.

James Duckworth continued his stellar form, scoring a career-first top-50 win on grass to also move into the second round.

Duckworth did not lose serve against world No.36 Adrian Mannarino of France, clinching a 6-3 6-2 victory in 58 minutes.

World No.101 Duckworth has won three matches so far this week, having come through qualifying. He now faces three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Sam Querrey in the second round.

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez proved too strong for Alexei Popyrin, showing his grass-court experience in a 6-4 6-4 win, while a back injury forced John Millman to withdraw from the tournament ahead of his first-round match.

Aussies in action – Stuttgart

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Jordan Thompson (AUS)
d Guido Pella (ARG) 6-3 6-4
[Q] James Duckworth (AUS)
d [7] Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-3 6-2
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-4 6-4

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
[4] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Jordan Thompson (AUS)
[Q] James Duckworth (AUS)
v Sam Querrey (USA)

NOTTINGHAM, UK

Arina Rodionova, the last remaining Australian woman in the singles draw at a WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham, lost to fourth seed Zhang Shuai in second-round action today.

There was better news for Storm Sanders in doubles, with the 26-year-old moving into the quarterfinals with American partner Caroline Dolehide.

Top-seeded Brit Dan Evans eliminated Matt Ebden in the second round of an ATP Challenger event, beating the Australian in two tiebreak sets.

Four teams featuring Australian players remain alive in the men’s doubles draw.

Aussies in action – Nottingham

RESULTS
Women’s singles, second round
[4] Zhang Shuai (CHN) d Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-4 6-3

Women’s doubles, first round
[2] Storm Sanders (AUS)/Caroline Dolehide (USA) d Lauren Davis (USA)/Catherine McNally (USA) 7-6(3) 6-4

Men’s singles, second round
[1] Dan Evans (GBR) d [Q] Matt Ebden (AUS) 7-6(6) 7-6(4)

Men’s doubles, first round
[2] Matt Ebden (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) d Evgeny Donskoy (RUS)/Kamil Majchrzak (POL) 6-4 7-6(4)
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Jay Clarke (GBR) d Thomas Fabbiano (ITA)/Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6(4) 7-6(6)
Maxime Cressy (USA)/Andrea Vavassori (ITA) d Max Purcell (AUS)/Marc-Andrea Huesler (SUI) 4-6 6-3 [10-3]

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
[Q] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v [8] Kamil Majchrzak (POL)

Women’s doubles, quarterfinals
[2] Storm Sanders (AUS)/Caroline Dolehide (USA) v Tara Moore (GBR)/Eden Silva (GBR)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Matt Reid (AUS)/Ken Skupski (GBR) v [WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Jay Clarke (GBR)
Marc Polmans (AUS)/Artem Sitak (NZL) v [4] Nathaniel Lammons (USA)/Jackson Withrow (USA)
[2] Matt Ebden (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Lloyd Glasspool (GBR)/Harri Heliovaara (FIN)