Jack Draper wins first ATP 500 title in Vienna
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Jack Draper won his first ATP 500 title of his career after a straight sets win over Karen Khachanov in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria.
Draper defeated the former Paris Masters champion 6-4, 7-5 to become the fourth British man to win an ATP 500 title in the Open Era after Andy Murray, Cam Norrie and Dan Evans.
After a near perfect first set, Draper survived a potential Khachanov comeback in the second with the Russian overturning a 4-0 deficit to lead 5-4.
The Brit hit 32 winners to the Russian's 16 throughout the match and broke four times to see out the biggest win of his career in an hour and 34 minutes.
“I’ve loved being here – Vienna is an incredible tournament,” Draper said to Sky Sports after the match.
“To win my first ATP 500 feels incredible. I’m so proud of myself and my team for all the hard work we’ve put in. It’s for moments like this so I’m going to enjoy it.
“I was playing so good but then the momentum shifted a little bit. I didn’t feel like I was too nervous or too tight, it was just few balls here and there, a few wrong decisions and Karen started swinging. He’s obviously in great form so it got tight there for a minute, but I stayed solid and mentally in a good frame. Luckily, I was able to come through when it mattered."
Jack Draper's route to the Erste Bank Open title
|
Round |
Opponent |
|
First round |
Bt. Kei Nishikori (JPN, world No.141) 7-6(5), 7-5 |
|
Second round |
Bt. Luciano Darderi (ITA, world No.42) 7-5, 6-1 |
|
Quarter-final |
Bt. Tomas Mahac (CZE, world No.27) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 |
|
Semi-final |
Bt. Lorenzo Musetti (ITA, world No.17) 6-2, 6-4 |
|
Final |
Bt. Karen Khachanov (world No.24) 6-4, 7-5 |
Draper joins a star-studded list of names to have won the Erste Bank Open in recent years alongside Jannik Sinner (2023), Daniil Medvedev (2022) and Murray (2014 & 2016).
He becomes the first player to win the trophy on his Vienna debut since Murray 10 years ago.
It’s the second ATP trophy of the 22-year-old’s career so far, having claimed the crown in Stuttgart earlier this year.
The US Open semi-finalist is set to rise to world No.15 in the ATP rankings on Monday – a new career-high for the young Brit. That’s a 76-place jump from his ranking this time last year (No.91).
Draper struck the first blow early in the opening set of the Vienna final. An error-stricken service game from Khachanov gifted the Brit the initial break of the match as he raced out to a 3-1 lead.
Confidence clearly shaken after an inconsistent start; the 28-year-old found himself facing two break points on his next service game but manage to conjure up a couple of unreturnable first serves to stay within reach.
The first set was an absolute clinic on serve from Draper. The Lexus GB Davis Cup star dropped just three points on serve during an almost faultless 40 minutes of tennis – closing out the set with an easy serve, forehand winner combo.
The writing looked to be on the wall for the Russian as Draper broke twice to love at the start of the second, and Draper had one hand on the trophy with a commanding 4-0 advantage.
With little to lose, last week’s Almaty Open champion loosened up and came back swinging. Once the Russian got himself on the scoreboard he looked like a totally different player. He made almost every shot through the second half of the set and reeled off five straight games to wipe away Draper’s double break lead.
The scores then locked at 5-5, Khachanov seemed to return back to the base level he had shown throughout the rest of the contest and Draper capitalised. Facing break points once again, the Russian hit a clumsy volley for Draper to dispatch for a winner.
Draper’s serve hadn’t been quite as effective in the second set but he found it when it mattered – seeing off two break points in the final game before collapsing to the ground in relief as Khachanov’s ball sailed wide on his first and only match point.
Earlier in the day, Britain’s Neal Skupski finished runner-up in the men’s doubles final alongside New Zealand’s Michael Venus.
Skupski and Venus lost to home favourites Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler 4-6, 6-3, 10-1 in the final.
