Duckworth defies odds to take flight

Around 18 months ago, James Duckworth was re-learning to walk.

A series of injuries culminating in seven surgeries, five in the space of 13 months, had taken a toll. The three on his foot did most of the damage. With six Challenger titles to his name and three in the year before, Duckworth had been flying high before the devastating injury spell. The Australian admits to doubting if he would scale those lofty heights again.

On Sunday at the KSLTA court, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Benjamin Bonzi at the Bengaluru Open Challenger final, the 28-year-old bagged the 11th Challenger title of his career. On Monday, he will reach the high 70s in the ATP Ranking, a career high.

It wasn’t an easy final. On a slow surface, holding serve proved difficult for both players. While Duckworth broke Bonzi -- a player who uses angles well -- five times, his serve was broken thrice in the match. Even his first-serve percentage was lesser than his opponent, 40% to Bonzi’s 55%. The difference was the big serves the Australian came up with under pressure.

Serving for the first set at 5-4, Duckworth saved two break points before firing an ace and winning the next point on the back of a strong serve to take the set. In the second, 4-3 ahead, it was once again a big service game that set up the victory. Bonzi did well to set up points but unfortunately more often came up short in the execution of the final shot. And in keeping with his performance under pressure, Duckworth won the match on his second serve.

“(I had to) sort of (relearn) to walk and run. I had to work on my mechanics which was a bit out of whack,” recalled Duckworth. “I wasn’t able to run, hop or jump for a period. It (returning) was a long process of adjusting footwear, building up the strength and activating the different muscles that I wasn’t using properly before. It just took a long time.”

Having chugged along the the hard roads, the re-found success is satisfying. “Having been through so much, I appreciate this a lot more. I draw from those tough experiences and it spurs me on to keep progressing. It’s just that little bit sweeter,” he said, adding that his next tournament, in two week’s time, will be the Davis Cup.

For the grandson of Beryl Penrose - who won the singles and doubles titles at Australian Open in 1955 - taking to court for the country will count as his biggest success.

Meanwhile Bonzi, who defeated four seeds en route to his final appearance here, will rise to the top 250s in the rankings.