Jack Draper Reaches His First Tour-Level Semifinal Since January In Sofia

| by Evita Mueller

Jack Draper added an eighth win in a row as the Brit continues to dominate indoors, beating Cem Ilkel in two simple sets at the 2023 Sofia Open.

Draper established himself as a really good indoor player last year by winning a couple of ATP Challenger events. After going 26-8 indoors last year, the Brit is doing it again this year, winning his 8th consecutive match today.

He's playing really well, highlighted by his win over the Bergamo challenger last week. He's continuing to play well in Sofia as well, beating top seed Lorenzo Musetti yesterday and dominating the matchup against Ilkel today.

The dominance was established pretty early on in the match as he took an early 3-0 lead, and from there, it was a simple cruise toward the finish line. The opening set was 6-2 for Draper behind three aces and utter dominance on his serve.

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He didn't face a single break point and dropped only a handful of points. On return, Draper attacked the first serve of Ilkel with great success, winning over 50 % of those rallies.

That's just a bad sign for any player because indoors are supposed to favor the serve. The courts in Sofia play somewhat slower than usual, which allowed Draper to unlead his power.

The second set was pretty much the same, but Draper dominated even more on his serve now. He was in full rhythm, just pounding away from the baseline. Ilkel was pretty solid, but he doesn't have the level needed to challenge players like Draper.

The final score was 6-2 6-2 for the Brit, who moves on to the semi-final inching closer to a maiden ATP Final. With the way he's been playing, it's not impossible to imagine him going all the way. He's by far the strongest player in the draw and is playing really strong tennis right now.

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