Richard Gasquet has ended the challenge of local favourite James Duckworth in the second round of the Australian Open.
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The 24th seed stormed through the opening two sets before recording the win over the world number 120 by a 6-2 6-3 7-5 scoreline.
Ninety per cent of Gasquet's first serves landed in play while he took two of his nine break-point opportunities to lay down a marker ahead of the second set.
Duckworth kept with Gasquet at the start of the second before losing his third service game, and that proved decisive as the Sydney-born player squandered two opportunities to break back.
The Australian crowd kept with their man in the third as he began to find the target with his first serve, but after the first 10 games were shared, Gasquet struck to progress through to the last 32.
Darren Plant
