Jack Draper was rested for Nice Britain’s Davis Cup opener, however his substitute Billy Harris got here to the fore to assist the group beat Finland 2-1.
Britain’s first tie of the event got here simply 4 days after Draper’s bodily draining US Open semi-final in New York, the place he was overwhelmed by eventual champion Jannik Siner.
Staff captain Leon Smith subsequently opted to provide the British No 1 additional relaxation following observe forward of more durable ties in opposition to Argentina and Canada at Manchester’s AO Area on Friday and Sunday respectively.
Nevertheless, the hosts nonetheless had greater than sufficient to make sure victory over final yr’s shock semi-finalists forward of the doubles, with debutant Billy Harris taking the decisive win with a 6-4 7-6 (4) triumph in his rubber with Otto Virtanen.
At 29, Manxman Harris is the last word late developer having lastly made his solution to the higher echelons of the game during the last 12 months after years spent touring spherical Europe in a transformed transit van.
This was a tough first match in opposition to 23-year-old Virtanen, ranked solely 9 locations decrease than Harris at 110 and who performed a key function in Finland’s run to the final 4 in 2023. The Finns had been with out their No 1 Emil Ruusuvuori via harm, although, and Virtanen’s makes an attempt to drive a deciding set fell simply quick.
Harris was in full management in opposition to an erratic opponent till 4-2 within the second set, when he missed a number of probabilities to safe a double break and was instantly pegged again, however withstood strain to drive a tie-break and confirmed composure to clinch the victory.
“It was always going to be tough coming in playing No 1 with Jack and Cam [Norrie] and people not around,” Harris stated. “But I thought I went out and played a good match.
“Undoubtedly a number of nerves in there, you are not simply enjoying for your self, you are enjoying for group and nation. However as quickly because it received going I felt good on the market. A really proud second and I am completely happy I put in a superb efficiency.”
However, Finland manage to avoid being swept as Virtanen teamed up with Harri Heliovaara to beat Evans and Neal Skupski 7-6 (4) 7-5 in the doubles.
Evans’ clash with Vasa was a landmark occasion for the British veteran, who by playing in his 26th tie in the competition surpassed Andy Murray to claim joint second place in the British standings alongside Mike Sangster and behind only Bobby Wilson.
Dan Evans was victorious within the opening rubber in opposition to Finland
He wouldn’t have been an even bigger favorite in any of his earlier 37 rubbers, however Vasa performed effectively above his standing of world No 703 throughout a good first set.
“I knew his ranking, which probably made it a bit more difficult, there’s a lot more pressure for me to win the match,” stated Evans, who has slipped to 178 on the earth after a troublesome 12 months.
“As well as Billy being a debutant, I really wanted to be 1-0 up, just would help him out a bit more. I did well to weather the storm, and it was pretty comfortable in the end.
“Each week is nice, it is superb to be a part of the group. I do not know what number of extra instances I will get an opportunity, so I will stick with it having fun with it.”
Kartal through to first WTA quarter-final
Sonay Kartal is thru to the quarter-finals of a WTA occasion for the primary time
British No 4 Sonay Kartal reached the primary WTA quarter-final of her profession with a straight-sets win over Mai Hontama on the Jasmin Open in Tunisia.
The 22-year-old qualifier from Brighton backed up her victory over fifth seed Jaqueline Cristian within the first spherical with a dominant 6-2 6-2 success.
Kartal, ranked 46 locations beneath her Japanese opponent at 151 on the earth, made the proper begin with a break of serve on her solution to a 3-0 lead and clinched the primary set in fashion with one other break courtesy of a backhand winner which clipped the road.
The second set was a carbon copy as Kartal, who reached the third spherical at Wimbledon earlier this summer time, opened up a 3-0 benefit once more earlier than changing a 3rd match level on the Hontama serve.
The place is Draper enjoying in the remainder of 2024?
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Following his run to the US Open semi-final, Martina Navratilova believes Jack Draper can proceed to go far within the Grand Slam occasions subsequent yr
It isn’t but confirmed when Draper will subsequent be in motion, however after a short hiatus the ATP Tour swings again into motion with occasions in China and Japan from September 16 onwards.
The Chengdu Open (ATP 250) and Hangzhou Open (ATP 250) tournaments will likely be stay on Sky Sports activities Tennis from that week, adopted by the China Open (ATP 500) in Beijing and Japan Open (ATP 500) in Tokyo from September 23.
All matches will likely be watchable on Sky Sports activities as Draper seems to enhance his spectacular type on exhausting courts (17 wins – 9 losses), and throughout the calendar yr (30-18) relying on the place he subsequent decides to play.
What else is developing on Sky Sports activities Tennis in September?
- Jasmin Open, Tunisia – WTA 250 (9-15 September)
- Guadalajara Open, Mexico – WTA 500 (9-15 September)
- Korea Open – WTA 500 (16 -22 September – with Emma Raducanu in motion)
- Thailand Open – WTA 250 (16 -22 September)
Sky Sports activities+ has formally launched and will likely be built-in into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports activities app, giving Sky Sports activities prospects entry to over 50 per cent extra stay sport this yr at no additional price. Discover out extra right here.
