British No 1 Jack Draper reeled off the last three games to produce a gutsy three-set victory against ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.
Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but Draper won 12 of the last 17 points to claim a stunning 3-6 6-4 7-5 win and reach the third round.
“I think Stefanos has a big presence and the court was insanely fast, so it’s hard to play good tennis,” Draper told Sky Sports.
“In the first hour I really struggled… and that just isn’t good enough against these top players.
“In general, my grit, my determination and my attitude won me the match today, so I’m very proud of that.”
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 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 22-year-old, though, 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 then 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.
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The winning moment as Draper comes from a set down to knock out Tsitsipas
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.
Draper is now 2-0 against Tsitsipas and he will take on the winner of seventh seed Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Tale of the Tape
Alexander Zverev became the first player to earn 50 tour-level wins this season after defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 for an opening win.
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Highlights of Alexander Zverev against Karen Khachanov
“I felt well on the court,” said Zverev, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2021. “I have felt good in practice and then it is easier to bring on court. I didn’t feel well in Canada at all, even in the few matches I won. I hope my form is getting better and better and I can play some good tennis.
“We are very similar players. We are both very tall and good baseline players and when we are both playing it is about form and who is playing better and today I am happy that it was me and I got a good win today.”
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Yoshihito Nishioka was given a game penalty after being warned multiple times by the umpire to calm down in his match against Hubert Hurkacz
Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz came through 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 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 No 7 Andrey Rublev saw off China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-4 6-3 to make the last 16 while Holger Rune came through 6-3 7-6 (10-8) against Nuno Borges.
American Ben Shelton delighted the home crowd as he battled to a 6-7 (8-6) 7-6 (9-7) 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.
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