British tennis player Jack Draper took a clear three-set victory over ninth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in his last three matches at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.
At 5-4 in the third set, Tsitsipas served to level the score, but Draper won 12 of the last 17 points to claim a stunning 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory that took him into the third round.
“I think Stefanos has a great presence and the court was insanely fast, so it’s hard to play good tennis,” said Draper Sky Sports.
“I really struggled in the first hour… and that’s just not good enough against these top players.”
“Overall, my grit, determination and attitude got me the win today and I’m very proud of that.”
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Draper reacts to his impressive win over Tsitsipas
Draper had required a medical timeout during his first-round win over Jaume Munar, but seemed to be able to move freely in the early exchanges.
Tsitsipas made a decisive break to take a 3-1 lead and, despite breaking the shot clock rule, the Greek world number 11 fended off several break points from Draper before taking the first set.
Draper rallied for the second set, this time holding his serve well before forcing a break chance in the 10th game following a double fault from Tsitsipas and leveling the match.
However, the 22-year-old was soon under pressure again as Tsitsipas had three break points in the opening game of the deciding set, but Draper recovered and managed to score the decisive serve.
Tsitsipas seemed to have made a decisive break in the ninth game, but then another time out and a double fault left him 0-40 behind, allowing Draper to level the score at 5-5.
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The decisive moment when Draper catches up a set deficit and knocks out Tsitsipas
Draper, currently ranked 28th in the ATP rankings, again put pressure on Tsitsipas before securing another hard-fought victory with a superb return.
Draper is now 2-0 up against Tsitsipas and will face the winner of seventh place. Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the quarter-finals.
History of the band
Carlos Alcaraz had to wait after his second-round match against Frenchman Gael Monfils was suspended on Thursday evening because the Spaniard’s first tournament since winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympic Games had to be cancelled due to rain.
Alcaraz won the first set 6-4 but was trailing 1-3 in the second set tiebreak when play was suspended. Play will resume on Friday and the winner will face 15th seed Holger Rune later in the day.
Alexander Zverev became the first player to reach 50 wins at tour level this season after defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 to claim his opening victory.
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Highlights of the match Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov
“I felt comfortable on the court,” said Zverev, who won the trophy in Cincinnati in 2021. “I felt good in training and then it’s easier to perform on the court. In Canada, I didn’t feel comfortable at all, not even in the few matches I won. I hope my form gets better and better and I can play good tennis.”
“We are very similar players. We are both very tall and good baseline players. When we both play, it’s about form and who plays better. Today I’m happy that it was me and I got a nice win.”
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Yoshihito Nishioka received a match penalty after being warned several times by the referee to calm down in his match against Hubert Hurkacz
Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz came through 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 against qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, who received a match penalty for violating the rules of the game after hitting balls into the crowd out of frustration in the deciding set.
World ranking 7 Andrei Rublev defeated Chinese Zhizhen Zhang 6:4 and 6:3 and reached the round of 16. Holger Rune won 6:3, 7:6 (10:8) against Nuno Borges.
American Ben Shelton thrilled the home crowd when he fought for a 6:7 (8:6), 7:6 (9:7) and 6:3 victory against the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
However, Grigor Dimitrov suffered an unexpected defeat against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsanwho came back from behind and won 4:6, 6:4, 6:3.
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