Jack Draper advanced to the 2024 Adelaide International quarterfinals after beating Miomir Kecmanovic, but what a dramatic match it was.
After starting the new season with an impressive win over Sebastian Baez, the young Brit face a challenging opponent, who is capable of producing very high level, and that's exactly what Kecmanovic did in this match.
Previously, the two met twice, with the Serbian beating Draper in his last match of 2023 at the Davis Cup, and also at the ATP 250 tournament in Lyon, in a match which was won by the British player.
Both of those matches were two-set encounters, but that wasn't the case this time around. Draper started the first set with a break, but he was immediately broken afterwards, and after Kecmanovic applied some more pressure on his serve in the 12th game, the Serbian was able to break and win the first set 7-5.
The Serbian already had a one-break advantage in the second set, but Draper rallied back and forced a tie-break. But despite leading 6-4 in the tie-break and having three set points, the Brit still faced two match points in the second-set tie-break.
Still, he saved both, and with his fourth set point, Draper won the second-set tie-break 11-9 to force the decider after nearly two-and-a-half hours of play already.
But the third set proved to be the most dramatic. There weren't any breaks, so the deciding set was headed right into the tie-break, in which Kecmanovic led early on, first 4-1, then 5-2.
However, the most crucial moment came at 5-5, when the rally decided who will have the first match point in the third set. During a rally, Kecmanovic saw Draper's ball go through the net, demanding a point for the rally, but the umpire had a different opinion.
The Serbian was very angry about the situation, calling the supervisor onto the court, but as is usually the case, nothing changed and he had to continue with the decision previously made by the umpire.
After about a five-minute delay, Kecmanovic managed to save his opponent's first match point, and after the following rally, he did it once more, making it 2-2 on match points saved in the match.
Yet, Draper was the first one to have the third match point, and he was also the first one to convert it to win the match 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(7) in three hours and 39 minutes to reach the 2024 Adelaide International quarterfinals, where he'll challenge the top-seeded Tommy Paul.
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