Australian Open 2025: How Jack Draper has come through five-set matches in the opening three rounds
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In the early hours of Saturday morning, Melbourne time, British No.1 Jack Draper secured his third five set win in his opening three matches at the Australian Open 2025.
On all three occasions, Draper has had to come back from 2-1 down to clinch crucial wins over Mariano Navone, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Vukic in yet another chapter of the 23-year-old’s growth and development.
Draper has shown that he has the heart and physicality to compete in these lengthy Grand Slam encounters and come out on top – but how has he done it?
As he gets set to face Carlos Alcaraz in the next round, we break down some of the contributing factors to his success in fifth sets so far Down Under.
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Capitalising on the first serve
Draper’s big lefty serve is well-known as one of his most effective weapons and the stats show that he’s been able to benefit from it more during deciding sets.
In a tough match up against Navone in the opening round, Draper’s first serve put huge pressure on the Argentinian, which he was unable to handle. The Brit hit five of his 13 aces in the final set and won 75% of points off his first serve compared to a match average of 67%. This gave him the platform to go for it on his returns and the world No.18 managed to break twice in the fifth.
The numbers look similar across his other matches as well. Against Kokkinakis he dropped just five points on serve in the decider and then in the third round he won 79% points off his first serve as well.
Having a reliable serve that can earn him easy points when he needs them and keep the pressure on his opponents has proved too much for other players to handle through these early rounds.
Consistency proves key
Another key factor behind the 15th seeds success in deciding sets this week has been his ability to limit mistakes in the big moments. His opponents then have to try and outplay him which often ends with their unforced error count racking up.
Against Kokkinakis in the second round, Draper only hit two unforced errors compared to the Aussie’s eight. Meanwhile, in his most recent clash with Vukic, the Brit hit 11 against his opponent’s 18 – which proved costly for the world No.68 in the final moments of the tie-break.
In the last six months, Draper has made huge strides in being able to manage the big moments in matches and limiting those mistakes while still keeping a high level after four hours of tennis. It's a rare skill to have but one that the top players in history have been able to master.
Impressive physicality
One of the standout takeaways from each of Draper’s performances so far at the Australian Open has been his impressive level of physicality deep into matches.
Draper came into the tournament with a hip injury and having lost two of his three previous five set matches he’s played, but the world No.18 has looked a different animal so far in Melbourne Park.
This was particularly noticeable in his second round clash against Kokkinakis, who as the match wore on was struggling with his own injury issues and fatigue, having come out swinging at almost every ball in the first four sets.
Draper definitely looked the much fresher of the two and once they got into longer rallies, there was only ever one winner. The Briton channelled the energy from the crowd at just the right points and when Kokkinakis had little more to give, he struck with the pivotal break for a 5-3 lead.
This is an element of his game that will be a huge positive for Draper to take forward - showing that he can regularly make these kind of runs at the Grand Slams.
Attacking the net
One part of Draper’s game that doesn’t get enough credit is his success rate when coming to the net.
The British No.1 is a big imposing figure when he comes forward and is becoming increasingly more effective in picking his moments to close down the net.
His numbers across all three matches show this, but in particularly he’s extremely effective in the final sets. Just take a look at his stats when coming to the net in each round:
- vs Navone (73% - 8/11) – match average: 66%
- vs Kokkinakis (89% - 8/9) – match average: 75%
- vs Vukic (78% - 7/9) – match average: 80%
When he is coming in, he’s finding ways to win points, and given the effectiveness of his serve, this is an element of his game we can expect more of in the future.
