Jack Draper fights back to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in Cincinnati Open
Draper came through 3-6 6-4 7-5
British number one Jack Draper produced a stunning fightback to beat world number 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and reach the third round at the Cincinnati Open in Ohio.
Draper had required a medical time out during his first-round win over Jaume Munar, but appeared to be moving freely during the early exchanges.
Tsitsipas made a decisive break to lead 3-1 and despite picking up shot-clock violations, the Greek world number 11 fended off a couple of break points for Draper before closing out the opening set.
Draper, 22, regrouped for the second set, his serve this time holding up well, before forcing home a break point opportunity in the 10th game following a double-fault by Tsitsipas to level the match.
The British number one was soon under pressure again as Tsitsipas had three break points in the opening game of the deciding set, but Draper recovered for a crucial hold.
Tsitsipas looked to have taken a decisive break in the ninth game, only to find himself 0-40 down following another call for time violation and a double fault, which saw Draper back on level terms at 5-5.
Draper, currently ranked 28 in the ATP standings, held to put the pressure back on Tsitsipas before converting a superb return to seal another hard-earned victory, 3-6 6-4 7-5.
“In these conditions it is really difficult, the courts are insanely fast, the fastest I think I have ever played in my life,” Draper said in his post-match interview, broadcast by Sky Sports.
“It is hard to play good tennis, and at the start, I really struggled. That is just not good enough against these top players.
“In general my grit, my determination and attitude won me the game today, so I am very proud of that.”
Draper will have to wait to find out his last-16 opponent, heavy rain ending the day’s play before Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime were able to take to the court.
Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz came through 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-1 against qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, who was handed a code violation game penalty after hitting balls into the crowd as his frustrations boiled over during the deciding set.
World number seven Andrey Rublev saw off China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-4 6-3 to make the last 16 and third seed Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 while Holger Rune came through 6-3 7-6 (8) against Nuno Borges.
American Ben Shelton delighted the home crowd as he battled to a 6-7 (6) 7-6 (7) 6-3 win over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Grigor Dimitrov, though, suffered an unexpected defeat to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, who fought from behind to win 4-6 6-4 6-3.
In the WTA event, defending champion Coco Gauff suffered a shock defeat by Yulia Putintseva in her opening match.
Gauff – who won last year’s US Open to secure a first Grand Slam title – had no response as Putintseva took the last four games to battle to a 6-4 2-6 6-4 victory.
Aryna Sabalenka, set to move above American Gauff into the world number two spot when the rankings next update, comfortably saw off Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 6-4 to move into the third round.
Former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez knocked out number four seed Elena Rybakina, coming through 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-4 after being double match point down in the second set while 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat veteran Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-2 6-3 to continue her progress.
