Feels like my second home in Kazakhstan - James Duckworth

Australian James Duckworth continued his strong run at the Almaty Open, delivering a composed and clinical performance to upset third seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-3, 6-2. With that win, the Australian advanced to the semifinals  marking his third career semifinal and his second at this event.

This was the biggest win for Duckworth over a top 30 player , in 2025, he had defeated  No. 26 Davidovich Fokina in Los Cabos in the second round 2R , with the win today the 33 year qualifier  Duckworth currently ranked 138 on the ATP Tour broke his  8-match losing streak in QFs at this level to reach his 3rd career Semifinals and also become the second man to reach multiple SFs at this event (earlier Mannarino had reached the semis in 2020, 2023).

James, congratulations!  That’s a  big win over the third seed today  in Almaty ?
Thanks! Yeah, it feels great. I really enjoy playing here. I've been playing some good tennis this week.  I really like the conditions. It's a bit bouncy, there’s some altitude, and I enjoy playing indoors. It’s such a well-run tournament, and I really feel at home here.
You seem to love Kazakhstan , doing well here?
(Smiles) Yeah,honestly feels like a second home to me , its a great event
You’ve been playing very consistently all week What’s been the key to maintaining that level?
I’ve been trying to stay aggressive and stick to my game style. I’ve worked really hard over the last few weeks — even though results hadn’t been going my way recently, I just kept putting in the effort. It’s nice to see it starting to pay off now.
What do you think turned the match in your favor today ?
I think I returned really well today — that was probably the biggest key. I was able to put a lot of pressure on his serve with some quality returns, and that made a big difference  and that’s something I was really pleased with.
Q: You’re into the semifinals now your thoughts on tomorrow's match?
Semifinal is tough  whoever I play — both Daniel and Fabian  are high-quality opponents. I’ll focus on recovering well tonight, prepare with my team, and come out tomorrow ready to enjoy it and compete hard.