British player Jack Draper pulled off an impressive comeback by eliminating the ninth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a thrilling three-set showdown at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday. Draper recovered after losing the first set and secured the victory with scores of 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, advancing to the third round.
Draper Advances to the Next Round
Tsitsipas, who was serving for the match at 5-4 in the final set, seemed to be in control. However, Draper stepped up, winning 12 of the last 17 points to seal the match. Reflecting on his performance, Draper told Sky Sports: "Stefanos is a formidable opponent, and the fast court conditions made it hard to play my best tennis. In the first hour, I struggled quite a bit... and that’s not enough against the best players. But my determination and attitude helped me win, and I’m proud of that."
Earlier in the tournament, Draper had requested a medical timeout during his first-round match against Jaume Munar, but showed no signs of injury in the match against Tsitsipas. Although Tsitsipas won the first set after breaking Draper's serve early on, the British player regrouped in the second set. His serve remained solid, and he capitalized on a double fault from Tsitsipas to break serve and take the set 6-4.
In the final set, Tsitsipas appeared poised to win after breaking Draper's serve in the ninth game. However, Draper immediately broke back, taking advantage of a time violation and another double fault from the Greek player. Draper then held his serve and pressured Tsitsipas, eventually converting an excellent return to seal the victory.
This victory improves Draper's head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 2-0. Draper, currently ranked 28th in the ATP rankings, will face either seventh seed Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round as he continues his quest for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev became the first player to reach 50 tournament wins this season, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match. Zverev, who won the Cincinnati title in 2021, expressed his satisfaction with his form, saying: "I felt good on the court today. The training has been going well, and that translated into my performance. I hope my form continues to improve as the tournament progresses."
