Jack Draper calls out Stefanos Tsitsipas’ ‘weakness’ after punishing Greek star | Tennis | Sport

British No.1 Jack Draper pointed out the ‘weakness’ of Stefanos Tsitsipas after fighting back to beat the Greek star at the Cincinnati Open. Draper was staring down the barrel as Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, but surged to win 12 of the last 17 points to book his place in the third round.

Draper will now face Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud or Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.

And speaking after his 3-6 6-4 7-5 victory, the 22-year-old admitted he had targeted one particular area of the world No.11’s play.

“In regards to Stefanos, I think my make up is good against him,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s no coincidence, he’s got a one-handed backhand that’s a bit weaker. His forehand is world class, but sometimes the backhand is a little bit of a weakness so maybe being a leftie helps that pattern.”

Tsitsipas was playing in his first tournament since ending his player-coach relationship with his father Apostolos. But he’s now failed to beat Draper in their two professional meetings, also losing to the Englishman in Canada two years ago

Draper also explained that the nature of the surface contributed to errors from both players, and attributed the win to his own determination. “Stefanos is a big presence on the court and in these conditions it’s really difficult,” he said.

“The court is insanely fast. I think it’s the fastest court I’ve ever played on in my life, honestly. And the ball travels so fast through the court so it’s hard to play good tennis.

“In the first set I really struggled. I played a really poor game to start off and that just isn’t good enough against these top players. So I think in general my grit, my determination and just my attitude won me the match today so I’m very proud of that.”

The win continued Draper’s preparation for this month’s US Open. Last year, he reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, a run that signifies his best performance in a Grand Slam to date.

And he’ll want to improve on his previous showings in major tournaments this year, knocked out of the second round of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. At SW19, he was beaten by British rival Cameron Norrie.

He also lost to Taylor Fritz at the second stage of the Olympics. But he’s been widely tipped to perform again in New York, amid being publicly backed by Sky pundit Tim Henman to step into the void left in British tennis by the retirement of Andy Murray.