Draper Outshines Fifth Seed Baez In Adelaide Opener
Jack Draper is off to a very good start in 2024, as he made his way past the fifth-seeded Sebastian Baez at the 2024 Adelaide International.
The 2023 season was a season marked by injuries for the British player, who wasn't able to spend much time on the court, and this year, he wants to leave that image of an injured player behind him.
Things started going well already during the off-season, when Draper won the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, without losing a single match, and he didn't disappoint even at the start of the regular ATP season.
In his first event, the Adelaide International, the Brit was initially set to play in the qualifying, but thanks to a late withdrawal, he made it to the main draw, and took on the fifth-seeded Sebastian Baez in his first match.
The British player wanted to be inspired by his country's tennis hero, Andy Murray, in 2024, and he certainly looked that way in his first match, as the Argentinian proved to be no match for the 22-year-old.
The Brit never struggled on his serve, as he didn't allow any break points in the opening set, but he managed to trouble his opponent, creating three opportunities to break in games four and six.
He was very efficient, and used two of the three break points, and thanks to that, built a lead which his opponent could do nothing about, as Draper won the opening set dominantly 6-1.
In the second set of the match, the world no. 62 in the ATP Rankings broke his opponent's serve twice again, and with his perfect serve, he had no trouble finishing off the match, winning 6-1, 6-3 in only an hour and 18 minutes.
Now, he will await the winner of the match between Miomir Kecmanovic and Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the tournament, with a possible clash against the top-seeded Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, should both of them win their second-round matches.
Just in
- 18:00 Djokovic Told He Must Make One Change To His Game 'Otherwise He Will Struggle'
- 16:00 Tsitsipas' Mother Blasts Djokovic's 'Infinitely Long' 2021 Roland Garros Toilet Break
- 14:00 'Don't Answer That': Ruud Helps Rune Avoid Controversy After His Own Misstep
- 12:00 Djokovic Determined To 'Make More History' Which Motivated His Murray Move
- 10:00 Nadal 'Can't Complain' Despite 'Suffering' With Many Injuries, Says Uncle Toni
- 07:50 Rublev Turns To Psychologist To Tackle Depression Reveals His Coach