Jack Draper won his first ATP Tour-level title at the 2024 Stuttgart Open after beating Matteo Berrettini in the final.
The British player has been one of the most talented players on the ATP Tour in recent years, but injuries often hampered his progress, and because of that, he wasn't able to win as much as he probably could.
However, that started to change in recent months, when he also reached a final in Sofia late last year. He couldn't win the title, but he got another chance to do that in Stuttgart.
After a run that included wins over Sebastian Ofner, Marcos Giron, Frances Tiafoe, and Brandon Nakashima, he took on Berrettini in the final. The Italian himself recorded some impressive wins, beating Roman Safiullin, Denis Shapovalov, James Duckworth, and Lorenzo Musetti.
The final between two great grass-court players was as close as it could possibly be. In the first set, there was only one break point opportunity, which was Berrettini's, and he used it to win the first set 6-3.
In the second set, both players had two break points. First Draper, then the Italian player, but neither of them used it, so a tie-break had to decide whether Berrettini would be crowned the champion, or if the match would have to be decided in the third set.
It was the scenario that fans appreciated more, as Draper was able to win the tie-break 7-5, sending the match into the third set.
Berrettini had one break point in the third set, but immediately after failing to use that, he faced one himself in the following game. The Italian wasn't able to save it, and that proved to be decisive.
After that, both players held their serve to love, and as a result, Draper was able to win the match 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to win the 2024 Stuttgart Open and lift his maiden Tour-level title.
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