Jack Draper evokes Andy Murray spirit to edge past Thanasi Kokkinakis
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Jack Draper conjured the spirit of Andy Murray to claw his way back from the brink of defeat against home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open. Two years ago, Murray famously recovered from two sets and a break down against Kokkinakis to win a second-round match that finished at 4.05am.
It was not quite midnight when Draper completed a 6-7 (3) 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory, holding his fist aloft in celebration of a memorable effort. But by that point the pair had been locked in a power battle on a raucous John Cain Arena for four hours and 35 minutes, with Kokkinakis serving for the match in the fourth set despite struggling with a pectoral problem but again unable to defeat his British foe.
Asked by John McEnroe in his on-court interview how he had pulled off the comeback, Draper said: “I don’t know, it was a really tough match. Thanasi is an unbelievable player, someone I have great respect for. “I’m really proud of the way I competed today and I eventually came through. I’m very happy about that. I’m getting better each set and I’m really proud of the way I’m going about my tennis.”.
Draper arrived at Melbourne Park still battling to recover from a hip injury suffered in pre-season and he has not yet found his best form. But the US Open semi-finalist again showed tremendous heart and fighting spirit to reach the third round here for the first time, where he will take on another Australian in unseeded Aleksandar Vukic.
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