The two previous times Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz faced each other this year, their encounters ended in similar ways. Although so little separated them on both occasions, Fritz’s greater self-belief and maturity marked the difference in the most important moments. He clinched both matches in three tight sets.
This is a different Draper, though, a special talent now flowing with confidence and the belief he truly belongs among the best. His exceptional end‑of‑season form continued as he closed out another massive win, edging out Fritz 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4 in a tension-filled battle to reach the last-16 of the Paris Masters.
“I competed really well,” Draper said. “My tennis wasn’t great but that’s the [fast] conditions. I don’t think anyone is finding it easy to play. Not a lot of rallies, the court’s incredibly fast so it’s tough to hit really good groundstrokes and be consistent. But I looked after my serve, I tried my hardest, I competed really well and I got over the line against a top‑10 player so I’m feeling really happy with that.”
This victory marks Draper’s fourth top‑10 win of 2024 and he has now won four of his past five matches against the elite, losing only against the world No 1 Jannik Sinner at the US Open. He is also now on a seven‑match winning run following his triumph at the Vienna Open, his first career ATP 500 title, on Sunday.
Draper had been forced to find his feet quickly in Paris after his late arrival from Vienna, a challenge made even more difficult by the exceptionally fast courts in Bercy. They are the fastest this year among the Masters 1000 events and the fastest the courts have been in Bercy for more than a decade.
From the very first exchanges Draper made his intentions clear as he forced himself inside the baseline, looking to dominate with his forehand. After failing to serve out the set at 5-4, Draper narrowly closed it out on his third set point deep in the opening tiebreak. As he continued to pressure Fritz, the second set was defined by a mammoth game at 3-2 as Fritz saved six break points before holding serve.
Draper then opened his service game at 3-3 with a double fault twice before losing the game to love. He became increasingly frustrated towards the end of the second set, but from 0-30 down at the beginning of the third set he pulled himself together. Holding firm his serve throughout the final set, he pounced at 5-4 to break serve and snatch a brilliant win.
“I had to accept it, regroup, know that it’s not good enough,” he said of his missed opportunities in set two. “But I can’t change the past, I’ve just gotta focus on the future and try to compete as best I can to give myself a good chance. I knew it wasn’t gonna be pretty but he wasn’t finding it easy as well so just proud of the way I kept on going every point.”
Once again, there will be no time to rest or reflect and things do not get any easier. Draper will next face Alex de Minaur, the ninth seed, in less than 24 hours on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier, Katie Boulter reached the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open with a tough 7-6(7), 6-4 win against Xiyu Wang of China.
Source: theguardian.com
