Australian Open 2025: Jack Draper avoids first round scare after coming through epic five set battle
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British No.1 Jack Draper has reached the second round at the Australian Open after escaping an early scare from Argentina’s Mariano Navone as the youngster eventually came through in a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Some might say it was like déjà vu for Draper, who also fought through in five during his first round match against Marcus Giron at Melbourne Park this time last year – marking what was then the first five-set victory of his career.
Heading into the first Grand Slam of the 2025 season, there was plenty of uncertainty surrounding Draper’s fitness after the 23-year-old withdrew from the United Cup due to a hip injury he picked up in the off-season.
With his mind focused solely on being able to play in Melbourne, we weren’t quite sure what to expect from the 15th seed in his first match against the world No.47, who he beat during his run to the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club last summer.
However, after a shaky start and the Brit being forced to navigate his way around the match court for the first time since the start of November, he eventually clawed over the line just as the clock hit the four hour mark.
"I showed a lot of heart today," Draper reflected in his post-match press conference. "It wasn't pretty at all, it was no where near my best but sometimes its about showing some heart and I'm really proud of that today.
"It's a big win, I'm glad to get through it and get another five set match under my belt."
"It (my body) held up fine," he added. "I haven't played loads of tennis, I only started playing points this week and my body wasn't great for the whole of December.
"It's a big spike in my load playing a four hour match but I think the best set I played was the last set and that's when I felt the best, so that's a real positive."
It was a slow start for the Brit who struggled to find his rhythm and timing, resulting in him making an uncharacteristic 88 unforced errors across the match compared to just 53 winners.
Draper fought back to draw level after dropping the opening set, but that only fuelled the Argentine’s hunger more as he recovered from an early break in the third to take a two set to one lead over the 2024 US Open semi-finalist.
The Brit, who is currently sitting at a career high ranking of world No.15, kept his cool after a nervy start to the fourth before breaking Navone later on to take us to a fifth and deciding set.
With physical difficulties beginning to creep in for Navone, Draper capitalised on his opponent’s struggles as he broke to love before going on to seal the double break with a backhand pass down the line that sparked him alive.
Stepping up to serve for the match, the big-serving lefty slammed down two aces on his way to securing a gutsy victory.
His win now sees Draper set up a second round clash against home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis. The pair have met on three occasions, with the Brit edging the head-to-head 2-1.
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