Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Eastbourne match.
James Duckworth has advanced through the qualifying rounds in Eastbourne and is currently riding a three-match winning streak, including a composed performance against Aleksandar Vukic. For Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, this will be only his second match since returning from time off for a wedding. While he secured a straightforward win over Chun-hsin Tseng, this result does not necessarily reflect his readiness to face a more formidable opponent.
James Duckworth
James Duckworth is displaying strong form, having won five of his last seven matches on grass. Last season, he performed competitively in grass-court events against high-calibre players such as Matteo Berrettini, Ben Shelton, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alex de Minaur, consistently winning at least nine games in each match. In his Eastbourne opener against Aleksandar Vukic, James Duckworth won 79% of points on his first serve, did not face a single break point, and fired 10 aces.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Grass has never been Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s preferred surface: in only two out of 13 tournaments has he managed to string together two consecutive wins. He has often fallen to lower-ranked players, including Alexander Kotov and Pedro Martínez Portero. In the first round, he defeated Chun-hsin Tseng (ATP No. 96), but even in that match he was pushed to a tie-break and served three double faults.
James Duckworth vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Prediction
James Duckworth has built solid momentum, is reading the surface well, and has shown he can challenge top-tier players. Despite Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s higher ranking within the top 30, his track record on grass remains unconvincing. Their only prior meeting ended in a win for the Australian, and he now has a strong chance to replicate that result. A small handicap looks a sound play here.
