Jack Draper moved into the third round of the Cincinnati Open in dramatic style, coming from a break down late in the third set to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas. The British No. 1 was pleased with his “grit, determination and attitude” on court as he refused to give up against the ninth-seeded Greek. He also described the courts in Cincinnati as the “fastest I have ever played on in my life.”
British No. 1 Jack Draper was pleased with his “grit, determination and attitude” after he secured a superb comeback win at the Cincinnati Open to knock out ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Greek claimed the first set and was a break up in the third, but Draper finished with a determined flourish to break twice in a three-game run and win 3-6 6-4 7-5.
Tsitsipas was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third, but Draper fought back admirably and produced a superb winner on match point before punching his fists into the air in animated celebration.
Next up for Draper is a third-round clash with seventh seed Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime.
And the 22-year-old admitted he is hoping for some cooler temperatures as the week goes on.
“Yesterday I struggled a bit, us Brits aren’t used to the heat,” he said.
“It was quite mild in Montreal, the last time I had heat exposure was in Melbourne. I think once you get through that match then you start to relax a bit and learn from the experience of playing in that, and I was physically really good today and was happy with the way my energy was.
“Mentally I was ready to go again and I knew it would be a tough match.”
