Jack Draper sails into the second round of the ATP Paris Masters with a straight sets victory over Jiri Lehecka Tennis News
Jack Draper won his first ATP 500 title with a convincing 7:5:6:2 victory over Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Paris Masters in Vienna over the weekend.
Just over 48 hours after winning the biggest title of his career, the 22-year-old British No. 1 showed no signs of fatigue as he stormed into the second round in Paris.
Draper needed just an hour and eight minutes to defeat his Czech opponent in straight sets, setting up a meeting with world number 6 Taylor Fritz of the USA. live on Sky Sports Tennis on Wednesday, from around 5 p.m.
For Draper, it is the turn of the American Taylor Fritz, who is ranked sixth in the world, in the second round
Draper narrowly prevailed in the first set thanks to a single break of serve in the 11th game, while a double fault from Lehecka gave the Brit another break early in the second set, which he would soon convert into a double break en route to a comfortable win.
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Carlos Alcaraz makes a tweener, but Nicolas Jarry answers and takes the point!
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz mastered his tournament opener and defeated Nicolas Jarry in the second round game in straight sets 7:5 and 6:1.
There were also other first round victories for the seeds Alex de Minuar (9), Stefanos Tsitsipas (10) and Holger Rune (13), but in sixth place Andrey Rublev suffered a surprise elimination against Francisco Cerundolo in the second round, losing in two tiebreaks 7:6 (8:6), 7:6 (7:5).
Two other seeds were eliminated in the first round, with Hubert Hurkacz (12) lost to Alex Michelsen and Frances Tiafoe (14) beaten by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Karen Khachanovwho was defeated by Draper in the Vienna final on Sunday, bounced back with a first-round victory over Christopher O’Connell Ben Shelton beat Corentin Moutet to secure his place in the last 32.
Draper has met his second-round opponent Fritz three times, with Fritz winning both encounters this year – in Munich and again at the Paris Olympics, overcoming a deficit on both occasions to triumph in three encounters.
Draper’s only success against the American came on the Queen’s Club pitch in 2022, when they won their first meeting in straight sets.
Draper is looking to improve on his current career-high 15th place finish with the prospect of potentially sneaking into the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Only the world’s top eight take part, with two substitutes also traveling to the tournament in case of injury, meaning Draper would need a good run in Paris and an early exit to give those ahead of him a chance of qualifying.
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Highlights of the final between Jack Draper and Karen Khachanov at the Vienna Open
Draper’s remarkable 12 months
Draper reached his first ATP Tour final in Sofia last November, where he narrowly lost to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-3.
He picked up where he left off at the start of 2024, defeating three top-40 players and reaching his second ATP final in Adelaide, but again finishing second, this time against Lehecka.
Draper reached his third ATP final in June – this time on grass in Stuttgart – and after victories over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima, he defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the final and made it for the third time with luck – he fought back from a set down to beat the Italian 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
The victory also meant he overtook Cameron Norrie to become the 19th man to be British No. 1 in the Open era.
At Queen’s Club he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the second round and then reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, where he faced Jannik Sinner before losing 7-5, 7-6 (7-7). eliminated. 3) 6-2.
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After reaching the semi-finals of the US Open, Martina Navratilova believes Draper can go far in Grand Slam events next year
Draper celebrated his second ATP title after a thrilling straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday, triumphing over the Russian 6-4, 7-5.
Draper promises to ‘shake up the guys at the top’
“I’m really happy with my progress this year,” Draper said after winning his second career title in Vienna over the weekend.
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Draper defeated Karen Khachanov to win the Vienna Open, his first ATP 500 title
“I’ll focus on next week and then look forward to having a bit of time off and probably not thinking about tennis. It was a long year and it demanded a lot from me.”
“And then I’ll freshen up and push on next year with even more motivation to really shake up the guys at the top of the game – guys like Sinner and Alcaraz.”
“If I can continue to improve physically and get more and more experience at this higher level against top players, I will give myself the chance to hopefully compete with these guys.”
“But there is still a lot to do.”
What can you expect from 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 28th – November 3rd)
- Rolex Paris Masters – ATP 1000 (October 28th – November 3rd, with Jack Draper in action)
- WTA Finals Riyadh – (November 2-9)
- Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
- Moselle Open, Metz – ATP 250 (November 3rd – 9th)
- Nitto ATP Finals, Turin – (November 10-17)
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