Jack Draper adopted up his maiden ATP 500 title in Vienna on the weekend with a convincing 7-5 6-2 win over Jiri Lehecka within the first spherical of the Paris Masters.
Simply over 48 hours on from claiming the most important title of his profession to this point, the 22-year-old British No 1 confirmed no indicators of fatigue in storming into the second spherical in Paris.
Draper wanted only one hour and eight minutes to dispatch his Czech opponent in straight units, organising a gathering with world No 6 Taylor Fritz of the USA – stay on Sky Sports activities Tennis on Wednesday, from roughly 5pm.
Draper edged a decent first set courtesy of a single break of serve within the eleventh sport, whereas a Lehecka double fault gifted the Brit one other early within the second set that he would quickly convert right into a double break on his method to a snug win.
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Carlos Alcaraz pulls off tweener however Nicolas Jarry responds and wins the purpose!
World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz cruised by way of his event opener, beating Nicolas Jarry 7-5 6-1 in straight units of their second-round match.
Elsewhere, there have been first-round wins too for seeds Alex de Minuar (9), Stefanos Tsitsipas (10) and Holger Rune (13), however sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev suffered a shock second-round exit to Francisco Cerundolo, happening in two tie-breaks 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).
Two additional seeds crashed out within the first spherical, with Hubert Hurkacz (12) shedding out to Alex Michelsen and Frances Tiafoe (14) overwhelmed by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Karen Khachanov, having been defeated by Draper in that Vienna remaining on Sunday, bounced again with a first-round win over over Christopher O’Connell, whereas Ben Shelton beat Corentin Moutet to guide his spot within the final 32.
Draper has met his second-round opponent Fritz 3 times beforehand, with Fritz profitable each encounters this yr – in Munich, and once more on the Paris Olympics, coming from a set down on each events to triumph in three.
Draper’s sole success in opposition to the American got here on the grass at Queen’s Membership in 2022, profitable their first assembly in straight units.
Draper is seeking to additional enhance on his present, career-high rating of fifteenth, with a view to doubtlessly sneaking into the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Solely the highest eight on the earth compete, with two alternates additionally travelling to the event in case of harm, that means Draper would want a deep run in Paris and early exits for these in entrance of him to face an opportunity of qualifying.
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Highlights of the ultimate between Jack Draper and Karen Khachanov on the Vienna Open
Draper’s outstanding 12 months
Draper reached his maiden ATP Tour remaining in Sofia final November, the place he narrowly misplaced to France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3.
He picked up the place he left off at the beginning of 2024, defeating three top-40 gamers to make his second ATP remaining in Adelaide, however as soon as once more he completed as runner-up, this time to Lehecka.
Draper reached his third ATP remaining – this time on grass in Stuttgart – in June and after wins over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima, he defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini within the remaining to make it third time fortunate – battling again from a set all the way down to beat the Italian 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The win additionally meant that he overtook Cameron Norrie to change into the nineteenth man to be British No 1 within the Open period.
At Queen’s Membership, he upset Carlos Alcaraz within the second spherical and he then made his maiden Grand Slam semi-final on the US Open the place he went toe-to-toe with Jannik Sinner earlier than bowing out 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
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Following his run to the US Open semi-final, Martina Navratilova believes Draper can proceed to go far within the Grand Slam occasions subsequent yr
Draper celebrated his second ATP title following a tense straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov within the remaining of the Erste Financial institution Open in Vienna on Sunday, triumphing 6-4 7-5 over the Russian.
Draper vows to ‘shake up guys at high of sport’
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” mentioned Draper, after claiming his second profession title in Vienna on the weekend.
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Draper beat Karen Khachanov to win the Vienna Open, his first ATP 500 title
“I’ll focus on next week and then I’m going to look forward to having a bit of time off and probably not thinking about tennis. It has been a long year and it has taken a lot out of me.
“After which I will refresh and I will go once more for subsequent yr with even larger motivation to essentially shake up these guys on the high of the sport – the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz.
“If I can keep on improving physically and keep on getting more and more experience at this higher level against top players then I’m going to give myself a shot to hopefully be competing with those guys.
“However there’s quite a lot of work to do.”
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
- Hong Kong Tennis Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
- Jiangxi Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
- Merida Open Akron – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
- Rolex Paris Masters – ATP 1000 (October 28 – November 3, with Jack Draper in action)
- WTA Finals Riyadh – (November 2-9)
- Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
- Moselle Open, Metz – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
- Nitto ATP Finals, Turin – (November 10-17)
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