Jack Draper followed up his maiden ATP 500 title in Vienna at the weekend with a convincing 7-5 6-2 win over Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Paris Masters.
Just over 48 hours on from claiming the biggest title of his career to date, the 22-year-old British No 1 showed no signs of fatigue in storming into the second round in Paris.
Draper needed just one hour and eight minutes to dispatch his Czech opponent in straight sets, setting up a meeting next with world No 6 Taylor Fritz of the USA.
The USA’s Taylor Fritz, ranked sixth in the world, awaits for Jack Draper in the second round
Draper edged a tight first set courtesy of a single break of serve in the 11th game, while a Lehecka double fault gifted the Brit another early in the second set that he’d soon convert into a double break on his way to a comfortable win.
Draper and Fritz have squared off three times previously, with Fritz winning both encounters this year – in Munich, and again at the Paris Olympics, coming from a set down on both occasions to triumph in three.
Draper’s sole success against the America came on the grass at Queen’s Club in 2022, winning their first meeting in straight sets.
Draper is looking to further improve on his current, career-high ranking of 15th, with a view to potentially sneaking into the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Only the top eight in the world compete, with two alternates also travelling to the tournament in case of injury, meaning Draper would need a deep run in Paris and early exits for those in front of him to stand 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 maiden ATP Tour final in Sofia last November, where he narrowly lost to France’s 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 to make his second ATP final in Adelaide, but once again he finished as runner-up, this time to Lehecka.
Draper reached his third ATP final – this time on grass in Stuttgart – in June and after wins over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima, while he defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the final to make it third time lucky – battling back from a set down to beat the Italian 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The win also meant that he overtook Cameron Norrie to become the 19th man to be British No 1 in the Open era.
At Queen’s Club, he upset Carlos Alcaraz in the second round and he then made his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open where he went toe-to-toe with Jannik Sinner before 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 Jack Draper can continue to go far in the Grand Slam events next year
Draper celebrated his second ATP title following a tense straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday, triumphing 6-4 7-5 over the Russian.
Draper vows to ‘shake up guys at top of game’
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” said Draper, after claiming his second career title in Vienna at the weekend.
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Jack Draper has beaten 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.
“And then I’ll refresh and I’ll go again for next year with even bigger motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game – 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.
“But there’s 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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