Cincinnati, 16 August 2024 (TDI): Jack Draper, the top-ranked player in Britain, overcame a setback to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas and qualify for the third round of the Cincinnati Open Tennis Tournament.
In the final set, 11th-ranked Tsitsipas broke for 5-4, but Draper recovered to win 3-6 6-4 7-5 after winning 12 of the next 17 games.
In general, I won the game today thanks to my tenacity, dedication, and attitude, so I’m really proud of that,” the world No. 28 player Jack Draper stated in his on-court interview.
The next opponent for the 22-year-old is Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada or Casper Ruud of Norway, who is ranked eighth.
Tsitsipas was competing in his first tournament since ending his coaching relationship with his father Apostolos. He had previously finished second in the Australian Open and French Open.
The current champion Coco Gauff lost to Yulia Putintseva, a 34-year-old Kazakh, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the women’s event.
“Overall, I think my consistency needs to be improved,” 20-year-old Gauff remarked.
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Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4, will take the world no. 2 slot away from the US Open champion.
With a 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 feat, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez advanced, as fourth seed Elena Rybakina was unable to convert two match points.
With fourth place in the world for men, Karen Khachanov was defeated by Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-2, and Zhizhen Zhang of China was upset by Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-3, having sixth in ranking.
