James Duckworth wins Bangkok Challenger II, returns to world's top 200

Lucie Bertoldo

James Duckworth wins Bangkok Challenger II, returns to world's top 200 image

Australia's James Duckworth has surpassed another height on his comeback trail from injury, taking out the Bangkok Challenger II on Sunday.

The 27-year-old defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4 6-3 to claim his second Challenger title in the past six months.

Sending down 12 aces and winning 77 per cent of his first service points, the Australian overcame the Spaniard in one hour and nine minutes.

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Winning his seventh career title and the first of this season, Duckworth pockets $7,200 in prize money as well as 80 ATP ranking points.

The victory sees him break back into world's top 200 at No.169, his highest ranking since August 2017.

Since then, Duckworth has undergone five surgeries, enduring lengthy procedures to fix foot, shoulder and elbow ailments.

The former world No.82 began his comeback trail in May last year after his injuries caused him to drop outside the top 1,000 players.

Defeating Luke Saville at the Australian Open playoffs, Duckworth won a wildcard to secure his place in the Grand Slam for the first time in two years.

However, an unlucky draw saw him come up against 17-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal in the first round. 

Losing the match 6-4 6-3 7-5 to the Spaniard, Duckworth bowed out of the Australian Grand Slam in straight sets.

So far this year, Duckworth has built a win-loss record of 12-6 after he reached the semi-finals in the first ATP Challenger event in Bangkok last week.

He also made the semi-finals of the Chennai Challenger earlier this month, where he was knocked out by number one seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran.

Lucie Bertoldo