Jack Draper beats Khachanov to win biggest title of his career in Vienna

Jack Draper ended Karen Khachanov’s eight-match winning streak to claim his first ATP 500 title in Vienna on Sunday.

Draper, who was seeded seventh in the draw, defeated Khachanov 6-4, 7-5. The player who beat him in two of the three previous meetings at Tour level. The Briton hit a total of 32 winners and scored 80% of his first serve points, becoming the first player to win Vienna on his debut since compatriot Andy Murray did so in 2014.

“I really enjoyed it here, Vienna is an incredible tournament.” – said Draper.

“So many amazing players in this draw and to win my first 500… I couldn’t be happier.

“I’m so proud of myself, my team and all the work we’ve done.

“I’m going to enjoy this.”

The 23-year-old made a strong start, defeating Khachanov in game three to give him enough of a lead to close out the grid. Draper then raced to the title after racing into a 4-0 lead in the second frame in less than 20 minutes before Khachanov’s surprise comeback saw him come back to level the scores. The momentum shift continued as the Russian enjoyed making 5-4 head moves.

Despite the miss, Draper weathered the storm two games later after a poor volley from Khachanov allowed him to hit the winning pass and a chance to take the match back. After recovering from a 15-40 deficit, he made it big with a backhand shot into the goal. Draper then sealed the win with a Khachanov kick that landed.

“I was playing so well and then the tempo changed a little bit.” Draper talked about the end of his match.

“I didn’t feel too nervous or too stressed. I just missed a few goals here and there, maybe a couple of bad decisions.

“Karen started swaying. He began to raise his level. That’s a testament to how good he is. He’s a fighter. Obviously in great shape.

“It got really, really tight there for a minute, but I stayed hard. I stayed in good shape mentally and luckily I was able to stick it out when it mattered.”

The triumph came during a breakthrough season for Draper, who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open. He also won his first ATP 250 event in June at the Stuttgart Open and reached the last eight of the Cincinnati Masters.

Draper became the fourth Briton to win an ATP 500 event since the category was introduced in 2009, following Andy Murray, Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie. On Monday he will rise to 15th place in the PIF ATP rankings.