By Tony Fairbairn
- Jack Draper def Alexandre Muller 6-2 6-3
- Draper v Miomir Kecmanovic [5] | H2H: First Meeting
LYON, FRANCE – Jack Draper cruised past Alexandre Muller in his opening match in Lyon to reach the second round where he faces fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic.
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Jack Draper def Alexandre Muller 6-2 6-3
Jack Draper is into the second round of Lyon after claiming his second win of the clay court season with a straight sets win over Alexandre Muller. Draper showed no signs of his abdomen injury that he had been suffering with for most of the clay court season as he displayed his returning power early on. The aggressive serving of Muller couldn’t prevent the Brit’s powerful baseline game for long as Draper converted his fourth break point of the second game to break and take a 2-0 lead.
The world number 60 also showed why he is a force on serve as well, sealing two consecutive love holds as Muller couldn’t get into a consistent returning rhythm. Muller grew into the opening set towards the end as he started to gain confidence from the baseline especially with his backhand. However that counted for nothing on return and soon enough the Frenchman would concede another break of serve as Draper sealed the opening set in the eighth game.
In the second set, Draper continued the momentum as he was consistently hitting winners past Muller but this time the Frenchman took more risks on return. The world number 100 tested Draper’s resilience under pressure in the third game as he forced more errors from the Brit’s game. However nothing came out of it as Draper continued to remain consistent on return and apply some authority with his power.
Both players showed effective serving patterns as neither player could dictate the match with aggression and opted to use more variety to outmanoeuvre the opponent. Eventually it was Muller who made more mistakes as the set went on and Draper took advantage as he converted his only break point of the set to take a 5-3 lead.
That was all Draper needed as he converted his first match point to easily close out the contest in 1 hour and 15 minutes, sealing his place into the second round.
Jack Draper v Miomir Kecmanovic [5] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jack Draper v Miomir Kecmanovic [5] | H2H: First Meeting |
| ATP Lyon 2023 | Lyon, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €9,880 |
| Third on Court One (13:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Draper will take on fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic for the first time as a place in the quarter-finals is at stake.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Jack Draper (WR 60) | Miomir Kecmanovic (WR 36) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | N/A |
| 1st Serve % | 60.4 | 60.5 |
| Service Games Won % | 81.8 | 79.8 |
| Break Points Saved % | 67.1 | 61.4 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 52.9 | 50.3 |
| Break Points Converted % | 40.6 | 43.8 |
Draper’s has been more effective on serve but will need to continue to be consistent on big points considering Kecmanovic’s break point conversion rate.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
Kecmanovic had a good start to the clay court season by reaching the final in Estoril losing to Casper Ruud. However the Serb has struggled for consistency and form since then as first round exits in Madrid and Rome means he will miss out on a seeding for Roland Garros. Now Kecmanovic looks to regain his form ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year as he looks to improve his ranking and make a return to the world’s top 30.
Draper will look to continue to use his power to dominate baseline exchanges but will use angles to force errors from Kecmanovic’s defensive game and use variety to change up the tempo of the match. The Serb will look to be more consistent on return and use depth to force mistakes from Draper, taking advantage of any open space that is created on the court. This will be a test of Draper’s physicality and consistency heading into Roland Garros and the Brit’s confidence from the baseline should see him through to the last eight in this tight contest.
Prediction: Draper in three sets.
How to Watch/Follow ATP Lyon 2023
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