Attention Rafa Nadal! Jack Draper is in early form
Jack Draper (ATP No. 40) is up front at the ATP tournament in Adelaide. Rafael Nadal will keep a special eye on him in the coming days.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Jan 12, 2023, 01:12 pm
Draper, the 21-year-old Briton, is through to the semi-finals of the 250 event after a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over three-seeded Karen Khachanov. And before that: the leftie had already beaten Lorenzo Sonego and Tommy Paul, who was noted at four, in two sets.
In the semi-finals it's now against Soonwoo Kwon, but Draper will already have cast an eye or two in the direction of the draw for the Australian Open . Because there he has a special meeting in round 1 - one with Rafael Nadal
He is top seeded in Melbourne (after Carlos Alcaraz's cancellation), also defending champion. And does not come into the tournament with the best qualifications. The past late year didn't go well after the comeback, and 2022 didn't start well either with two defeats in the United Cup.
Nadal confident: 'Preparation is going pretty well'
Which doesn't necessarily mean a lot. If anyone knows how to start a Grand Slam tournament, it's Nadal - as a 22-time major champion. "It's true that I haven't been able to play a lot of tennis in the last few months. And I lost two matches in Sydney at the beginning of the season. But to be honest, I'm not dissatisfied with the preparation," Nadal had also given a relaxed entwarung a few days ago . "Preparation is going pretty well. I'm training a lot and I think I'm in good shape."
Nadal caught a rather mediocre draw. After Draper, Brandon Nakashima could be a good hard court player, and in round 3 Yoshihito Nishioka could be one of the climbers in recent months. And then Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16. Hubert Hurkacz or Daniil Medvedev were the other top candidates for the quarter-finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas for a possible semi-final.
A meeting with record champion Novak Djokovic would only be possible in the final.
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