Jack Draper defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-6 (4) in the opening match to complete his much-anticipated Davis Cup debut.
Draper started the second set intending to put himself more on the front foot after losing to Kokkinakis in the first set despite having a point to win it. In the first game, he broke Kokkinakis’ serve and easily won the set. Draper consistently applied pressure to Kokkinakis’ service games in the crucial due to his superior return and mobility.
Teams are only officially nominated under the new Davis Cup format an hour before each day’s first match. Draper stated his remarks about his coach after the match and said: “He said he wanted me to be out there and that he believed in me. Really, from there, we didn’t really talk too much about it. I trained well. I only started thinking about it probably an hour before I played, to which the nerves started coming in.”
He further added: “I was definitely a bit nervous before I played but I knew that I’d played some tough matches in the US Open. I felt really good about my tennis.”
Currently ranked no.106, Jack played his last match on the 13th of September when he beat world no.74 Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(4) in the Rubber 1 of the Davis Cup (draw).
This year Jack owns an overall 17-10 win-loss record. Jack Draper’s most significant accomplishment of the current season was getting to the semifinal in Adelaide.
Jack Draper |
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