Having suffered for three hours in the searing, suffocating Melbourne heat, Jack Draper pulled himself together for one final, desperate effort. On his second match point against Marcos Giron, the Briton punctuated a gruelling 14-stroke rally with a spectacular forehand winner. After shaking Giron’s hand, Draper immediately sprinted to the side of the court and threw up into a bin.
Draper’s discomfort illustrated his impressive effort as he reached the second round of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory. It was Draper’s first five‑set match and, after struggling with so many physical issues in his young career, it is one of his most significant wins to date.
After an excellent week in Adelaide, where he reached his second career ATP final, Draper started well against Giron, an American journeyman ranked No 66. Draper’s superior serve and weight of shot allowed him to control the baseline and he quickly established a one-set lead.
As has so often been the case in Draper’s career, though, the conditions gradually broke him down.
Having called the doctor on to court to check his blood pressure in the 32C heat, Draper quickly fell behind two sets to one. In the opening game of the fourth set, he then faced a double break point. But he found ample first serves, struck the ball with authority and dug out a gritty hold. Just as it seemed that the match had slipped from his grasp, Draper recalibrated his game and he rolled through eight consecutive games to force a final set.
By the fifth set, Draper’s footwork had nearly slowed to a halt and he used the full allocated time to catch his breath, panting in the corner of the court and frequently hunching over from behind the baseline. In the final games, he paired his electrolyte drinks with a can of Pepsi.
After struggling through so many injuries already in his career and fading physically in other matches, this time Draper’s grit and determination won out. Although far from his biggest triumph by ranking, it is an important win that could be the first step towards becoming physically and mentally robust enough to compete with the best.
Draper will next face Tommy Paul, the 14th seed, who he defeated a week ago en route to the Adelaide final.
Earlier, Cameron Norrie became the first British player to win as he moved into the second round with a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory against Juan Pablo Varillas. In contrast to Draper’s positive form, Norrie arrived in Melbourne unsure of whether he would be physically fit after withdrawing from the Auckland event last week with a wrist injury.
Not only was Norrie healthy enough to play at his full capacity, he played an extremely solid match against a lower‑ranked opponent, taking the initiative early on and never letting up.
“I think it was not ideal, but I was lucky enough to play on Tuesday, so I had a few more days to get ready,” Norrie said. “I think I was lucky enough to be able to manage the practice and give myself the best chance to be ready to compete and was able to still do a lot of movement and a lot of fitness before, so it was good.” Norrie will next face Giulio Zeppieri, a young Italian qualifier, in the second round.
Katie Boulter became the third British player to reach the second round as she advanced with a hard‑fought 7-5, 7-6 (1) win against Yuan Yue of China.
