Britain’s Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career with a tense straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, playing in his second competition since reaching the US Open semi-finals, won 6-4 7-5 against the Russian world No 24 in the Austrian capital
Draper looked set to breeze to victory after going 4-0 up in the second set but was then forced to dig in when Khachanov threatened a comeback by winning the next five games in a row.
The seventh seed became the fourth British player to triumph at the tournament, following in the footsteps of Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and two-time winner Andy Murray.
“I was playing so good and then the momentum shifted a little bit. I didn’t feel too tight or too nervous. I just missed a few balls here and there,” said Draper.
“I made a couple of wrong decisions and Karen started swinging, picking up his level. That is testament to how good he is. He’s a fighter. I got a bit tight but I stayed solid, stayed in a good frame mentally and luckily I was able to come through when it mattered.
“It feels incredible, I am incredibly happy. I am so proud of the work myself and my team have put in. It is for moments like this.”
Having already guaranteed a top-15 ranking with his performances this week, Stuttgart Open champion Draper described the match as his “biggest final yet”.
He wasted little time in asserting his authority on the contest as his stellar breakthrough season continued with a devastating first-set display.
Opponent Khachanov, who beat second seed Alex De Minaur and 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini en route to Sunday’s showpiece, was broken from 40-15 up in game three.
That proved to be the decisive moment in an opening set which was wrapped up in 40 minutes after Draper served strongly and produced an array of eye-catching winners.
Khachanov had also been serving well but showed signs of nerves when he was twice broken to love at the start of a second set to fall 4-0 behind.
The match appeared to have slipped away from the 28-year-old but he gave Draper plenty to ponder by impressively moving 5-4 ahead during a substantial momentum shift.
However, the Briton regained his composure at a crucial moment to secure his first ATP 500 title thanks to a gruelling victory in an hour and 35 minutes.
“The late nights, the early mornings are to play some amazing tennis in front of packed crowds in big arenas. It makes it worth it,” said Draper after lifting the trophy.
Khachanov joked: “I felt like I was playing the PlayStation at the beginning. I played here, he played there. No chance!”
Tale of the Tape
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Draper’s remarkable 12 months
Draper reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Sofia last November, where he narrowly lost to France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3.
He picked up where he left off at the start of 2024 – defeating three top-40 players to make his second ATP final in Adelaide, but once again finished as runner-up, this time to Jiri Lehecka.
Draper reached his third ATP final – this time on grass in Stuttgart – in June and after wins over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima he defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini to make it third-time lucky.
The 22-year-old battled back from a set down to beat the Italian 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The win also meant that he overtook Cameron Norrie to become the 19th man to be British No 1 in the Open era.
At Queen’s Club, he upset Carlos Alcaraz in the second round and he then made his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open where he went toe-to-toe with Sinner before bowing out 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
Draper celebrated his second ATP title following a tense straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov in the final of the Erste Bank Open on Sunday.
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