RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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MASON, Ohio — Cincinnati native J.J. Wolf's time at his home tournament is up.
Wolf, who played his first Cincinnati Open main draw match since 2022, fell to Australian James Duckworth 7-5, 7-6 in the first round of the 2026 Cincinnati Open on Friday, Aug. 14. The graduate of Cincinnati Country Day hung with his opponent throughout both sets but fell apart toward the end of both, including a 7-0 second-set tiebreak going in Duckworth's favor to decide the match.
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En route to his first round match, Wolf overcame several hurdles. He endured two rounds of qualifying, which he received a wild card to participate in, battling through a pair of three-setters that went deep into the night due to weather delays.
"It's what you have to deal with in this sport," Wolf said of the qualifying delays he endured. "Definitely wasn't ideal (being up) at 5 a.m. a couple nights in a row, and then getting up at 7 for a match."
Wolf also hadn't played at Cincinnati since 2024 before this past week, taking all of 2025 off for a shoulder injury.
Despite the loss, Wolf still received a warm welcome back to the main draw in Mason. Court 10 was nearly full for his match, with fans chanting "here we go J.J." in between points. It was a stark contrast from his late-night qualifying matches, which were played either with little fanfare or behind closed doors.
"It's always special for me to play in front of a home crowd," Wolf said. "It really helped me...my family and all the Cincinnati community watching."
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James Duckworth beats J.J. Wolf 7-5, 7-6
The two players traded holds to start, but then Wolf faced a 40-15 deficit while serving in the third game. Wolf was able to clutch up with strong serves and save the two break points he faced, before nearly breaking Duckworth himself with some standout forehand winners. But Duckworth pulled through to make it 2-2, and the players went on to play six straight games without winning more than a point on their opponent's serve.
That changed when Duckworth led 6-5 to break Wolf for the first time. Wolf hit a shot between the legs at 40-40 that led to a Duckworth winner, before the Cincinnati native double faulted on break point to give Duckworth the game. Duckworth clinched the opening set 7-5 a game later.
"It moved so quick," Wolf said of set one. "It was hard to really collect thoughts, so I had to sit down, focus back up, realize I was holding serve well and try to hold in the second set."
Wolf opened the second set the same way he closed out the first with a long service game, staving off two break points from Duckworth. The set was then deadlocked for nearly all the way through, though there were some more hiccups than the first; in the fifth game, Wolf hit a ball out to face break point and swung his racket in frustration, before coming back to hold 3-2.
Duckworth converted on an opportunity to take a 5-4 lead with a 40-0 return game, but Wolf prevented Duckworth from serving the match out to bring things to 5-5. After Wolf saved one more break point, the second set went into a tiebreak.
The Aussie came out swinging in the tiebreak, hitting back-to-back winners to take a 2-0 lead. That momentum continued when Wolf hit a ball that just went over the baseline, and then dumped the next one into the net. It remained all Duckworth from there, as he ran off four more points and then pumped his fist when Wolf's final shot was out.
"I did pretty well with (holding) until the end there," Wolf said. "Gave myself a shot, but he was too good."
Duckworth won the second set tiebreak 7-0, and ultimately the match with a 7-5, 7-6 score line. He will face No. 32 Arthur Fery in the second round on Saturday. Meanwhile, Wolf will move on to the U.S. Open, which he received a main draw wild card to participate in.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati native J.J. Wolf bows out of home tournament in first round
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