Draper escapes Tsitsipas in Cincinnati, Shelton saves MP

Jack Draper survived a three-set thriller Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where he fought off ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Round of 16.

The Greek Tsitsipas broke for 5-4 in the deciding set, but faltered to serve out the match in a dramatic tenth game. Tsitsipas lost a first serve when he received a time violation at 0/30. He then double faulted, giving Draper three break points, but the 22-year-old lefty only needed one forehand pass to level the set and deflate Tsitsipas’ momentum. Draper won the final three games to advance.

“Since coming from the Olympics I haven't found my best tennis... but I've been trying to find a way and I showed my grit and determination to come through today,” Draper said. “Each day I get an opportunity to come out and play again the better I feel. I feel great physically and look forward to keep it going.”

Draper now leads Tsitsipas 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Stuttgart champion also beat the 11-time tour-level titlist at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event in 2022.

"Stefanos is such a tough competitor, so I had to be there every point and be ready to compete,” said Draper, who committed 24 unforced errors to Tsitsipas’ 38. “Losing my service and then coming back in the final three games means the world to me and helps a lot mentally."

Up next for the World No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings is seventh seed Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In other Cincinnati three-set action, Ben Shelton saved a match point to overcome Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(6), 7-6(7), 6-3 after two hours, 52 minutes. The Argentine had a match point on serve at 7/6 in the second-set tie-break, after Shelton had three consecutive set points from 6/3.

^{Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

“This was a difficult match for me because I started so hot. So to lose that first set after the way that I was playing, multiple set points, up a break,” Shelton said. “Then I had huge chances in the second that I ended up coming through on. Kind of just had to battle it out and stay there. I ended up squeaking out the second set and rolling in the third.

“These are the types of wins that really propel you. The ones where you are tested, back against the wall and you come through in the big moments. That’s what’s really important to me about this one.”

Shelton will next face Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, who earlier upset eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Holger Rune avoided such drama with a 6-3, 7-6(8) victory against Portuguese qualifier Nuno Borges. The 15th-seeded Dane fended off two set points in the second-set tie-break.

Rune, who next faces second seed Carlos Alcaraz or Gael Monfils, used aggressive returning to gain an early advantage in baseline rallies against Borges. The 21-year-old won 63 per cent of his second-serve return points.