‘You’re not in trouble, you’re done’: What it’s like to face the Australian Open champion

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James Duckworth watched Jannik Sinner’s first serve sail long and wide for a fault.

After losing the opening set 1-6 in a breezy 26 minutes, this was Duckworth’s first – and maybe only – chance to break the superstar Italian’s serve, in the second game of the next set.

There is an urgency when these opportunities arise against the game’s elite.

Jannik Sinner gunning for a third-straight Australian Open crown.

Sinner went to the Australian’s backhand again on his second serve, and Duckworth’s eyes lit up. He knew pre-match he would need to be aggressive. Unfortunately, the 34-year-old’s crosscourt backhand return landed narrowly wide.

“I went after it, and missed by six inches or so,” Duckworth said after his 1-6, 4-6, 2-6 defeat to Sinner on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday night.

“I wouldn’t change my approach to it, but my execution could have been slightly better.”

That proved Duckworth’s big chance. He did not generate another break point until Sinner was already two sets up, and armed with a double-break advantage in the third set.

Sinner on the stretch in his first-round win over Hugo Gaston.

In a sport of microscopic margins, there is even less room for error against an opponent of the Italian’s calibre.

Duckworth, who has won at least a round at all four majors, agreed post-match to offer insights to this masthead about what it is like to go toe-to-toe with Sinner, a four-time grand slam champion who has claimed the past two Australian Open titles.

You have to be clear on your strategy, according to the world No.88, actually believe you can win, take more risks, hit closer to the lines, try to land as many first serves as possible, and hope for some luck.

Unlike some players, like countryman Alex de Minaur, Duckworth takes a peek at the draw. He knew Sinner was his likely second-round opponent if he could first beat Croatian young gun Dino Prizmic, which he eventually did after five sets and more than four hours.

James Duckworth says it’s crucial to go on the attack against Sinner.

“I wanted to play him, and I knew there was a 99 per cent chance it was going to be [on] centre court [if I did],” he said.

“That’s what you want to be doing. It’s why you play tennis – to play on the big stages, against the best guys, and in your home slam. It’s a great experience and a great feeling being out there and having all that crowd support.”

Duckworth was not intimidated – after all, he upset Sinner when he was the world No.15 five years ago in the Toronto Masters – but knew it was going to be tough.

“Any chance where you can attack, you need to attack, but you need to execute,” he said.

“That’s the thing. If you don’t execute, or don’t execute as precisely as what you need to, you’re defending. And once Jannik’s on top of the point, you’re done.”

Duckworth started laughing as he said that, then added: “You’re not in trouble, you’re done.”

The Australian veteran has not played against Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, but places them in an exclusive group with Sinner as players who can change direction with their shots off balls that most would not and should not dare.

Most players simply aren’t capable of pulling off those shots.

“Jannik’s very accurate with his groundstrokes. He’s got very good ball speed, and hits just as well off both sides,” Duckworth said.

“He can change direction easily on both sides, and he’s got a very heavy, big ball that is constantly coming at you. You’ve got to play aggressively, you’ve got to take it to him, and you’ve got to be on edge a little bit.”

Duckworth did not land enough first serves in the opening set to have any chance, but he made almost 80 per cent of them in the second set, when he played his best tennis of the match.

He understandably kept his exact tactics to himself, but they centred around being aggressive and finding ways to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm.

That included the use of slice, getting to the net where he could, trying to get the first strike in to dictate, and there were times when he stepped well inside the baseline to return even first serves.

Part of Duckworth’s issue was that the elongated Prizmic contest took the edge off him, physically, compared to Sinner’s 68-minute cakewalk in the first round. Even still, he found it a “cool” experience.

“Some people go out there and beat themselves, to a certain extent. They feel like they have to play a perfect match,” Duckworth said.

“You don’t have to play a perfect match. You have to play very well, but I didn’t prepare any differently. My coach and I came up with a strategy, and we were pretty happy with what we came up with. But it all comes down to execution against Jannik.”