Jack Draper found himself embroiled in a two-hour battle with Tomas Machac but found the extra energy to defeat his Czech opponent and reach the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria where he will be challenged for a place in the title round by Lorenzo Musetti who produced the upset of the day when he toppled the top-seeded Alexander Zverev.
At this level, you can’t get away with spending too long in that situation. So, I’m really proud of the way I competed. Jack Draper
Draper beat Machac 6-3 3-6 6-1 in a quarter-final match. Both players found difficulty in establishing their physical games on the other over the opening two sets but when Draper did get control at the start of the decider, his Czech rival was unable to respond in kind, conceding the match after two hours and six minutes.
“I thought the first set was really physical. It’s always tough playing Tomas, he’s so solid off the ground,” the 22-year-old Draper said on reaching his eighth semi-final at tour-level.
“I felt I had chances in the second set, but it was more of a mental battle [than a physical one].
“I felt like my energy dropped, my decision making became up and down. I knew I had to reset. At this level, you can’t get away with spending too long in that situation. So, I’m really proud of the way I competed.”
After a stellar season, during which he claimed his maiden Tour title in Stuttgart and reached the semi-finals at the US Open, the British No.1 is up to a new career-high of No. 17 in the world rankings.
Draper was no doubt expecting to face Zverev, the top seed in semis but following a major upset, the German was pushed aside by the Italian Musetti 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 following a two-hour, 36-minute tussle.
“It didn’t start how we planned, I was struggling to find the right balance with my forehand and the variation of my backhand,” the 22-year-old Musetti admitted
“But I stayed there, even when he came back in the second, I saved a lot of break points at 5-5. It’s definitely a match that means a lot to me.
“It’s a pretty big win [in my career], because Sascha really loves to play here, on this court, in these conditions. But, after the first round, I was feeling in good shape and today I showed that.”
Zverev’s loss won’t affect his place in the ATP Finals draw as he is currently placed third in the Race to Turin, but it does leave Alex de Minaur, the second seed, with a clear run to improve his place at 9 and possibly displace Andrei Rublev who currently sits in 8th.
Alex de Minaur improves his chances of qualifying for Turin.
(Photo by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)
However, the Aussie is finding the ‘race’ tough going and had to dig deep to get past Jakub Mensik, which he eventually did 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 late on Friday following a two-hour, 34-minute roller-coaster match.
“Now it’s crunch time. Every match counts. Every single point counts,” de Minaur said.
“I am gonna do my best. I haven’t played enough tennis this year, I have been sidelined for a while. So, plenty of energy and plenty of fight in me. So, I am going to make sure I give it my all every time I step out on court.”
His next hurdle is Karen Khachanov, who is on a good run having just won the Almaty title in Kazakhstan and now defeated the revived Matteo Berrettini 6-1 6-4 in just 78 minutes and extended his winning streak to seven matches. It was his first win over the Italian in five encounters.
Basel | Shelton and Fils cause upsets while Rune becomes the favorite
All the runners at the Swiss Indoor competing for a place in the ATP Finals have now tumbled out of the event in Basel and hope that they can recover lost points in Paris next week.
Surprisingly, the last two who had a chance of picking up maximum points at the 500-level event were eliminated at the quarter-final stage, namely the top-seeded Andrei Rublev and the third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Both were playing to face each other in the last four.
Rublev was beaten by the sixth seed, Ben Shelton 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 while Tsitsipas fell to Arthur Fils 7-6(5) 6-3
Shelton was imperious on serve throughout the encounter, slamming down 13 aces and saving all six break points he faced. The 22-year-old also converted each of the two break points he raised.
“I knew this was a big one for me. I struggled a lot this year in quarter-finals, and I’ve lost a lot of them against Top 10 players,” said Shelton. “It’s been a tough hump to overcome, but to get to the second to last week of the year and finally do it is huge for me. Especially with the way I was able to overcome everything Rublev threw at me today.”
Fils was also dominant in his quarter-final match.
“I think I served pretty well,” said Fils, who did not face a break point. “I was very focused. I missed a crazy set point, but I am very happy with how I dealt with the tiebreak, and I think I played pretty good in the second set as well.
“I found a way to refocus [after missing the first two set points], and I think I did that pretty well, so I am happy.”
As a result of those two crashing out of contention, Holger Rune the fourth seed assumes the mantle of favorite for this title.
The Dane had a comfortable 6-2 6-4 win over Lucky Loser David Goffin and will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after the 6’ 8” 21-year-old Frenchman battled past Denis Shapovalov 6-7(7) 6-3 7-6(3).
The Frenchman has hit 70 aces in three matches this week, and a total of 445 aces in 24 matches for the 2024 season, averaging 18.5 aces per match.
