By Tony Fairbairn
- Jack Draper def Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-2
- Draper v Tommy Paul [8] | H2H: First Meeting
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – Jack Draper continued his Australian Open preparations with a straight sets win over Lorenzo Sonego in Adelaide and will now face Tommy Paul in the second round.
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Jack Draper def Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-2
Jack Draper is into the second round in Adelaide after an impressive straight sets victory over Lorenzo Sonego. The Brit started strongly, using his power and anticipation on return to create three break points in the opening game as he tested Sonego’s serve on big points. Sonego more than stood up to the task as he not only saved them but broke the Brit to love to take a 3-1 lead.
Draper’s dip in form didn’t last long as he responded with authority, securing a break to love in the very next game to bring the match back on serve. In fact after being broken, Draper won 12 of the next 13 points as he took a 4-3 lead and was in control of the match. However the Brit was in danger of letting the opening set slip as some poor points under pressure allowed Sonego back into the match.
A long eighth game saw Draper save three points as he eventually held to take a crucial 5-3 lead in the opening set. Despite Sonego responding with a love service hold, Draper composed himself and confidently served out the opening set in 46 minutes.
The second saw both players start well and aggressively as they held relatively easy with Draper’s service games having more security about them. Sonego started the second set well producing stunning shots from the baseline, but the Italian would soon fade as Draper increased the intensity of the match.
After breaking on two consecutive return games, Draper closed out the match to love to seal the second set 6-2 and book his spot in the second round.
Jack Draper v Tommy Paul [8] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jack Draper v Tommy Paul [8] | H2H: First Meeting |
| ATP Adelaide 2 2023 | Adelaide, Australia |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $11,280 |
| First on Court Three (00:30 GMT) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7 day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Draper now faces a big test in the form of Tommy Paul who had a consistent season in 2022.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Jack Draper (WR 40) | Tommy Paul (WR 35) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | QF (2022) |
| 1st Serve % | 58.1 | 62.1 |
| Service Games Won % | 85.3 | 79.8 |
| Break Points Saved % | 71.2 | 61.8 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 52.5 | 49.5 |
| Break Points Converted % | 40.5 | 39.2 |
Draper leads all the statistics heading into this clash but will need to be aware of Paul’s returning consistency.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
Paul had a consistent year last year and had some breakthrough results including beating world number one Carlos Alcaraz. The American is a consistent baseliner that has the ability to frustrate opponents with his defensive style of play that can transition into an effective counter-attacking style.
Draper will look to be proactive and continue to dominate on serve, producing powerful shot-making to breakthrough the American’s defence. While Paul will look to use a mixture of depth and pace to mix up the play and force the errors from Draper. This should be a good match for Draper before the Australian Open and one that he enters as very slight favourite for.
Prediction: Draper in three sets.
Miomir Kecmanovic [6] def Kyle Edmund [PR] 6-4 7-5; Mackenzie McDonald def Dan Evans [5] 7-5 7-5
Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans are out of Adelaide though after they suffered straight set defeats to Miomir Kecmanovic and Mackenzie McDonald respectively. Edmund put up a very positive display against Kecmanovic as he displayed his power on return to cause the Serb problems. However when it really mattered, Edmund produced too many unforced errors as he enters the Australian Open without a win under his belt.
Meanwhile for Evans it was a case of his American opponent being too consistent when it really mattered. Despite being a break up at the start of the second set, Evans produced too many errors when it mattered most as he was broken five times during the straight sets defeat.
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