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Opportunity calls for Jack Draper at the Australian Open next week, where he will face top seed Rafael Nadal in a riveting first round.
The 21-year-old from Surrey pulled himself out of the hat against the Spanish legend just an hour after dispatching world number 20 Karen Khachanov, reaching the semi-final of the ATP 250 event in Adelaide.
The battle of two lefties was not the only high-profile draw involving British players next week with Andy Murray taking on Wimbledon 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Jack Draper (above) has been drawn against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open
Nadal is the top seed and it will be a big test for the rising British star next week.
Emma Raducanu, who seems to be recovering from last week’s ankle injury, will take on world number 74 Tamara Korpatsch of Germany. If she were to get over her, there is a chance of a first professional meeting with Coco Gauff.
There won’t have been many better times to play defending champion Nadal, whose surge in the first half of last season largely evaporated by the end of the year.
Draper underlined his potential again this morning by avenging last week’s loss against the mighty Russian by beating him 6-4, 7-6 to set up a match against Korean Soonwoo Kwon in South Australia on Friday.
“It will be amazing to play on a big court against him, he is a great champion,” he said of Nadal, the top seed in the absence of US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Andy Murray faces Mateo Berrettini in their first round match at the Australian Open
‘There are a lot of emotions, thinking about playing him, but I still have to do well in this week’s tournament. Whatever happens, it will be a special occasion for me, I am still very young in my career, so it is great to have these kinds of experiences and the exposure to play with Rafa in a great stadium. I will try to play well and do my best.
Since the US Open Nadal has lost six of his seven matches, including the two he has played this year, one of them against the British Cam Norrie.
His serve looked subpar in the recent United Cup team competition, but there is no player more masterful than the veteran Nadal, who peaks for the biggest events when he needs it.
A year ago, Draper was playing, and winning, Challenger-level tournaments, as his ranking was just outside the top 250. After twelve months of striking improvements, he is now in the top 40 in the world.
“He’s someone who fights very hard for every point,” Draper said at a recent GQ Heroes event. ‘He is a very humble guy. I think you can learn a lot of lessons from a great athlete like that.”
Draper has progressed well and beat Karen Khachanov at an ATP 250 event in Adelaide.
Emma Raducanu will face world number 74 Tamara Korpatsch of Germany in her first match
Speaking after his latest win, in which he overcame some nervous moments to take the tiebreaker 7-3, Draper reflected: “I was very proud of the way I played, especially after the way I performed last week.”
‘I lost to him (Khachanov) and he was too good, I felt a bit down after that. There were difficult moments at the end of the second set and mentally I had to overcome it, I was satisfied with the way I handled it.”
Five-time Aussie finalist Murray is out of the seeding positions these days and therefore vulnerable to coming up against one of the top-ranked players.
His form looked encouraging this morning when he defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-3 at the Kooyong Classic exhibition in suburban Melbourne.
He faced Berrettini, currently ranked 14th, in the third round of the US Open in September and lost in four very competitive sets. Kyle Edmund takes on another Italian great in Jannik Sinner, while 11th seed Cam Norrie takes on wild card Luoa Van Assche and the number 25 plays Argentine Facundo Bagnis.
Berrettini (above) defeated Murray at the US Open and the Brit will seek revenge
Raducanu returned to practice on Wednesday and was given a reasonable opener against the 27-year-old German Korpatsch, whom he beat last year in Stuttgart. In theory, that would lead to a second-round match against Gauff, the world number seven and the only player younger than her to be ranked higher.
Harriet Dart is the only other British player in the singles main draw, and was given a difficult but winnable first round against Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann.
Jodie Burrage fell to a disappointing 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss in the final qualifying round against the lower-ranked Frenchwoman Selena Janicijevic on Wednesday.
A lackluster qualifying campaign for the British players came to an end when Lily Miyazaki lost 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 to American Coco Vandeweghe.
Cam Norrie reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland when he defeated American Marcus Giron 6-1 6-7 6-2. He now plays Jenson Brooksby.