By Tony Fairbairn
- Jack Draper def Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4
- Draper v Taylor Fritz [7] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
PARIS, FRANCE – Jack Draper defeated former Bronze medallist Kei Nishikori on his Olympic debut to set up a second round meeting with Taylor Fritz in Paris.
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Jack Draper def Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4
Jack Draper is into the second round after winning his Olympic debut against former bronze medallist Kei Nishikori. Draper was clinical and ruthless on return as he banished memories of his first round loss to Jesper De Jong at Roland Garros. The Brit was also clinical on serve as he powered through his opening couple of service game as Draper fended off some ridiculous angles from Nishikori.
In the fourth game Draper produced deep and attacking tennis especially on the forehand in order to secure the break for a 3-1 lead. Although Nishikori responded with some attacking tennis of his own, it was all about Draper as he produced some big serves when it mattered most. Another clinical return game saw Draper break again as he would win the opening set 6-1 in 24 minutes.
The second set saw Draper lose focus a little bit allowing Nishikori to be more confident from the baseline. The British number one was erratic when it mattered as Nishikori pushed for the break of serve. An intense sixth game saw Nishikori create multiple break points as Draper was struggling to keep up with Nishikori’s acceleration of pace during rallies.
However, the Brit produced big serving when it mattered most as he held for 3-3. A crucial 15 minute spell was completed when Draper did what Nishikori couldn’t as the Brit converted his break point opportunities to secure a 4-3 lead.
Although Nishikori did his best to disrupt Draper’s confidence, the Brit prevailed as he produced more dominant serving to complete a debut win at the Olympics.
Jack Draper v Taylor Fritz [7] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jack Draper v Taylor Fritz [7] | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Olympic Games 2024 | Paris, France |
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Draper will now aim for revenge from his last set tiebreak defeat in Munich when he takes on Taylor Fritz in the second round.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)
| H2H: | Jack Draper (WR 26) | Taylor Fritz (WR 11) |
| Tournament Previous Best | N/A | N/A |
| 1st Serve % | 57.4 | 62.1 |
| Service Games Won % | 80.6 | 86.4 |
| Break Points Saved % | 57.4 | 68.3 |
| 2nd Serve Return Points Won % | 51.6 | 49.2 |
| Break Points Converted % | 47 | 39.5 |
Draper will look to continue his aggressive returning as he takes on one of the most consistently aggressive servers on the tour in the form of Fritz.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
Fritz has had a consistently good last few months with quarter-final appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon as well as runs to the semi-finals and finals at ATP 250 and ATP 500 events. However the American still hasn’t performed well when it matters most and will hope that the Olympics will be the platform he needs to start converting good runs into titles.
Draper will look to get the first strike in and be aggressive as he will need to pin Fritz behind the baseline as well as test the American’s movement. Meanwhile Fritz will continue to be aggressive on serve and use the backhand to accelerate the pace of the rallies. This should be a good contest with both players in good form at the moment. This is too tight to call but Draper will believe that he can gain revenge from his Munich defeat and reach the third round in Paris.
Prediction: Draper in three sets.
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