Giant-slaying Aussie Jason Kubler surges into first-ever ATP semi-final after all-Aussie scrap with James Duckworth at Hall of Fame Open
- Kubler thought his tennis career was over after six knee surgeries
- The former junior world No.1 is on the comeback trail again
- He had a huge showing at Wimbledon before bowing out in the fourth round
- Now the 29-year-old has a chance to reach an ATP final at the Hall of Fame Open
He was the Australian feel-good tennis story of WImbledon and now Jason Kubler has continued his winning streak to surge into the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Open on the famous courts of Newport in the United States.
It is the only ATP grass tournament to be held outside of the UK and Kubler has been making hay with a huge victory over top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on reach the quarter-finals – the first time Kubler has beaten a top 10 opponent.
Then Kubler, who is trying to rebuild his career after six knee surgeries, dug deep to beat fellow Aussie Duckworth 7-5 7-6 (7-3) in a tight encounter.
It is the first time that Kubler has made it this far at an ATP tournament.
‘It’s a good mental victory for me today,’ Kubler said in his on-court interview.
‘I’ve been putting a lot of effort into my mental side. I’m happy that I was able to stay consistent throughout the match.’
It comes after Kubler was able to surge into the round of Wimbledon while also winning his first round match at the French Open. Kubler has now won 25 of his last 29 matches.
Kubler celebrates winning his match against James Duckworth during their quarterfinal match of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport
The 29-year-old had to earn qualification at the Grand Slam events the hard way through lead-in tournaments, but is now set to crack back into the world top 100.
He will now meet Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the semi-final, who had earlier beaten two-time Wimbledon champ Andy Murray 7-5 6-4.
Duckworth had won on all four previous occasions the two had met on tour. Kubler also ousted fellow Australian Jordan Thompson earlier in the tournament.
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