Giron, Duckworth Reach San Diego QFs

Third seed Marcos Giron and seventh seed James Duckworth booked the first two quarter-final places on offer at the San Diego Open with a pair of Wednesday wins. The Wimbledon doubles partners are now set to square off on Friday in what will be their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

Dressed in an all-black kit with a sleeveless shirt, Giron earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry to close the day’s play on the Barnes Tennis Center’s stadium court. Australia’s Duckworth secured a 6-3, 7-6(4) result against American Mitchell Krueger earlier in the Grandstand.

“Tomas is a great player. He’s Top 100 for a reason,” said Giron, who’s lived in San Diego for five years. “It’s tough, slow conditions and it’s physical. I’m really happy to get the win and I’m pumped to keep going forward.”

Playing in his native California, Giron will seek his second tour-level quarter-final of 2022 (Dallas), and the third of his career, against Duckworth. The American broke into the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in May, achieving a career-high of No. 49 after reaching the Rome third round as a lucky loser.

He could rise as high as No. 43 by winning his first ATP Tour title this week, according to the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The San Diego opening round concluded with four matches on Wednesday. Sixth seed Alejandro Tabilo scored a 7-5, 6-2 win against American Steve Johnson, while Christopher O’Connell advanced past fellow Aussie Jason Kubler courtesy of a retirement after the pair split sets.

Ahead of Giron, Mackenzie McDonald earned the first singles win for Team USA with a 6-0, 6-2 decision against Henri Laaksonen on the show court. Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan edged Marc-Andrea Huesler — a surprise finalist in Winston-Salem in August — 6-3, 7-5 in the Grandstand.

In doubles action, top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni scored a 6-3, 7-5 win against Americans Evan King and Denis Kudla, while third seeds Nicolas Barrientos and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela survived a Match Tie-break to beat Keegan Smith and Sem Verbeek 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 10-7.