Astana Open: John Millman vs. James Duckworth 9/24/21 Tennis Prediction

Fifth seeded John Millman of Australia will face countryman James Duckworth in the Quarter-Finals of the 2021 Astana Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Friday September 24th, 2021 at 3:20am EST.

John Millman is the defending champion here at the Astana Open and despite his poor season thus far will be hoping to repeat as the title winner. He has started strongly here and will face fellow Aussie for a spot in the Semi-Finals. This will be their first meeting on the ATP Tour which is a bit surprising but they will know each other’s games well, and it is sure to be a fascinating contest. Millman is the obvious favorite given his higher ranking and his past success here, but Duckworth is a very capable player and will be liking his chances. Who will win and advance to the Semis?

John Millman is the fifth seed here at the 2021 Astana Open and is currently ranked #48 on the ATP Tour. The Aussie has a reputation of being one of the hardest workers on the Tour, and is a very consistent and reliable player. While he does not have any major weapons he is solid all over, and very rarely gives anything away. As the defending champion here in Astana he struggled a bit in his opening match against Jaume Munar, winning in three tight sets. While Munar is a very strong player, his game is not suited for indoor hard courts, so it was a match that Millman should have won comfortably. Despite this, he will be very happy to have won, and knows that he will have to be much improved here against James Duckworth if he is to go any further.

James Duckworth is unseeded here at the 2021 Astana Open and is currently ranked #65 in the world rankings. He has not had much success lately on the ATP Tour, with his last result of note being a surprising run to the Round of 16 at the Canadian Open as a Qualifier. He then went on a losing streak, not winning a match in three consecutive Tour level events and decided to enter a Challenger to try to find some form ahead of the Astana Open. The plan worked as he won that tournament convincingly, only losing one set in the process in Istanbul. That would have given him some much needed confidence which enabled him to defeat world number 37 Filip Krajinovic in the Second Round. This shows the level of tennis he is capable of, and while he is the underdog here against John Millman he is certainly able to cause the upset here.

This is set to be a very close contest. Normally I would predict John Millman to win quite comfortably, but James Duckworth produced some fantastic tennis to defeat Krajinovic and he should not be underestimated. I am expecting this match to go to three sets, but all things considered, I must back Millman here. His form is patchy at the moment but he is the defending champion and is has much more experience at this stage in tournaments than Duckworth. It will be close, but I always go with experience in tight matches and the edge certainly is in his favor. John Millman to win in three sets, advancing to the Semis here at the Astana Open for the second year in a row.