Jack Draper defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6–1, 7–5 and booked his place in the last 16 of the Indian Wells Open.
Draper started the match very well and quickly put pressure on Cerundolo’s serve. The British tennis star broke serve early and controlled the points with his strong serve and forehand.
Cerundolo struggled to keep up with Draper’s pace and found it hard to get into a rhythm. Draper continued to attack and broke serve more than once, winning the first set easily 6–1.
In the second set Cerundolo played better and fought harder as he broke Draper’s serve and took a 5–4 lead, which gave him the chance to serve for the set. But Draper stayed calm and broke back immediately to make the score level again.
He kept the pressure on and broke Cerundolo’s serve once more near the end of the set to win it 7–5, finishing the match in straight sets.
The 24-year-old will now face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the next round of the Indian Wells Open. Draper spoke highly of Djokovic during his court interview.
He has watched him play since he was a young child and has always looked up to him. Draper described Djokovic as one of his biggest inspirations in tennis and believes he is the greatest player of all time.
“I’ve been watching him since I was a young boy and, in my opinion, he’s the greatest player of all-time.
“When you come up against him you know he’s going to be there mentally, you know he’s going to make it an incredibly tough match and play some crazy tennis. I’m going to have to be ready for that.
“Anyone who is in the game and knows tennis, knows that what he has done in the sport and what he is still doing is mind-blowing.”
The last time Jack Draper played against Novak Djokovic was at the Wimbledon Championships in 2021. It was Draper’s first Grand Slam match. He surprised many people by winning the first set, but Djokovic used his experience and came back to win the match 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2.
