Jack Draper goes the distance again to beat Vukic and set up Alcaraz clash
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Throughout the early days of Jack Draper’s young career, questions around his physical preparedness for his chosen sport followed him wherever he went. As he continually struggled with injuries and endurance issues alike, Draper never failed to hear from those who believe he did not work hard enough, carry himself with sufficient professionalism or care enough about his craft.
![[Jack Draper smashes his racket after losing the third set against Aleksandar Vukic.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a3fb4e53d889d3d7c9d9760814ab193616e452e6/0_101_3990_2394/master/3990.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Those days are over. Finito. For the third straight day in Melbourne Park, despite his stunted preparation and the rust that caked his game, Draper has somehow found a way to drag himself across the finishing line of yet another frantic five-set match he seemed desperate to lose, drawing on his endless reserves of grit and heart in the process.
Despite standing two points from defeat against an inspired opponent lasering outlandish winners from all parts of the court, Draper somehow survived to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, defeating Aleksandar Vukic of Australia 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) in 3 hours, 58 minutes.
Between his three brutal wins in Melbourne this year, each contest decided in five sets, Draper has spent 12 hours, 34 minutes on court. A year after vomiting into a rubbish bin after surviving his first career five-set match in his Australian Open first round match against Marcos Giron, Draper is now 5-1 in tennis’s most brutal format.
With this tremendous victory, Draper has set up one of the most highly anticipated match-ups in the draw. He will next face Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed and reigning champion at the French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz continued his pursuit of the career grand slam by defeating Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
