Jack Draper: British No 1 cruises into Qatar Open quarter-finals after beating Christopher O'Connell
British No 1 Jack Draper made light work of Australian Christopher O'Connell as he made the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open; watch all the ATP and WTA events in Dubai, Doha and Rio on Sky Sports Tennis
Wednesday 19 February 2025 20:19, UK
Jack Draper thrashed Christopher O'Connell 6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in Doha.
Draper is playing his first tournament since he made the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he won three consecutive five-set matches.
The British No 1 was expected to play Novak Djokovic in the last eight but the Serbian was surprisingly beaten earlier this week. Instead, Draper will play Italy's Matteo Berrettini on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
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Draper, who is looking to win just his second ATP 500 title, was rarely threatened by O'Connell and produced moments of brilliance throughout the match.
He broke O'Connell's serve immediately and established a two-break lead on his way to the first set and only dropped one game in the second set.
Later on Wednesday evening, top seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Italy's Luck Nardi 6-1 4-6 6-3 to set up a quarter-final clash with Jiri Lehecka.
Sabalenka knocked out at Dubai Open
Over at the Dubai Open, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was stunned by Denmark's Clara Tauson in a 6-3 6-2 defeat in their last 16 match.
Sabalenka won less than half of her first serve points, losing the last three games of the first set and the opening two of the second which she never recovered from.
Tauson will play Czechia star Linda Noskova next after she beat Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6 (10-8).
Second seed Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals with a 7-5 6-0 win over Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska and will face teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday.
Fourth-seeded Jasmine Paolini lost to Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-0 as she suffered a right ankle injury during the second set, which limited her movements on the court.
A tearful Paolini got a medical timeout and had her ankle immobilized, but could not challenge Kenin after the injury.
The American's adversary in the quarter-finals will be Elena Rybakina, who beat Paula Badosa 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-2) in one of the tournament's most intense battles so far.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports App.
Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker and the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch will be live on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!
