British No. 1 Jack Draper staged an impressive comeback to knock out ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a gripping three-set encounter at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday. Draper rallied from a set down, ultimately securing a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory to advance to the third round.
Tsitsipas, who was serving for the match at 5-4 in the final set, appeared to be in control. However, Draper dug deep, winning 12 of the last 17 points to clinch the match. Reflecting on his performance, Draper told Sky Sports, “Stefanos is a formidable opponent, and the fast court conditions made it difficult to play my best tennis. In the first hour, I struggled a lot… and that’s not good enough against top players. But my determination and attitude pulled me through, and I’m proud of that.”
Draper Stages Stunning Comeback to Overcome Tsitsipas in Thrilling Three-Set Battle
Earlier in the tournament, Draper had required a medical time-out during his first-round match against Jaume Munar, but he showed no signs of injury in the match against Tsitsipas. Although Tsitsipas took the first set after breaking Draper’s serve early on, the British player regrouped in the second set. His serve held strong, and he capitalized on a double fault from Tsitsipas to break and take the set 6-4.
In the final set, Tsitsipas seemed poised for victory after breaking Draper’s serve in the ninth game. However, Draper immediately broke back, taking advantage of a time violation and another double fault from the Greek player. Draper then held serve and put the pressure on Tsitsipas, eventually converting a superb return to seal the win.
This victory improves Draper’s head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 2-0. Draper, currently ranked 28th in the ATP standings, will face either seventh seed Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round as he continues his pursuit of a quarterfinal spot.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev became the first player to reach 50 tour-level wins this season, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match. Zverev, who won the Cincinnati title in 2021, expressed his satisfaction with his form, saying, “I felt good on the court today. Practice has been going well, and that translated into my performance. I hope my form continues to improve as the tournament progresses.”
