Jack Draper coasts past Luciano Darderi in straight sets at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna; Watch all the ATP and WTA action on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+ which is integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app
Thursday 24 October 2024 18:05, UK
British No 1 Jack Draper wasted little time in reaching his first quarter-final at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Thursday after a clinical performance.
Draper, who is looking to cap off the best season of his career in style by clinching a second ATP title of the year, raced past Italian world No 42 Luciano Darderi 7-5 6-1 in 76 minutes and into the last eight.
He will meet Czech Tomas Machac in a repeat of their US Open fourth-round clash which the Brit won in comfortable fashion.
The 22-year-old, who had marked his comeback from injury with a victory over Kei Nishikori in the previous round, served superbly throughout and hit a total of 15 aces.
Four of those came in succession as he served out for the opening set after breaking Darderi in the 11th game, with two net cords going against the unfortunate Italian.
Draper broke serve again in the first game of the second set and Darderi, who had beaten Dominic Thiem in the last match of the former US Open champion's career on Tuesday, could not find a way back into the contest.
"I struggled a little bit on my first round, I served pretty well, but off the ground, I could have been a lot better and then today I really found a level," Draper said in a courtside interview.
"I thought that Darderi came out playing incredibly well, the first set. I had some chances and I had to stay calm.
"There were a couple of moments of frustration, but I think he really brought out the best of my tennis today and I'm really happy with the way my level was so consistent today."
Draper, who retired during his quarter-final against Ugo Humbert in Tokyo last month due to an abdominal injury, added: "I didn't know what to expect coming out after being injured and I was ill for a week as well, so I was potentially going to be a bit rusty and my body wasn't going to be feeling too good.
"But I felt like the last two matches I've been really strong and my movement, my confidence in everything I'm doing elevated today.
"Really happy with that and hopefully I can continue moving forward this week."
Draper will take on Machac next after the unseeded Czech came from a set down to beat third seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3.
Draper has enjoyed a memorable year, winning his first ATP title at the Stuttgart Open in June before beating Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen's a few days later and then reaching the US Open semi-finals where he was undone by world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
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