Britain’s Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career with a tense straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old, playing in his second competition since reaching the US Open semi-finals, won 6-4 7-5 against the Russian world No 24 in the Austrian capital<\/p>\n
Draper looked set to breeze to victory after going 4-0 up in the second set but was then forced to dig in when Khachanov threatened a comeback by winning the next five games in a row.<\/p>\n
The seventh seed became the fourth British player to triumph at the tournament, following in the footsteps of Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and two-time winner Andy Murray.<\/p>\n
Perfect symmetry<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Jack Draper becomes the first man to win Vienna on his debut since Andy Murray 10 years ago!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“I was playing so good and then the momentum shifted a little bit,” Draper told Sky Sports<\/em>.<\/p>\n “Honestly, I didn’t feel like I was too nervous or too tight; I just missed a few balls here and there, maybe a couple of wrong decisions and Karen started swinging, he started picking up his level.<\/p>\n “That’s a testament to how good he is, he’s a fighter, obviously on great form.<\/p>\n “It got really tight there for a minute but I stayed solid, I stayed mentally in a good frame and luckily I was able come through when it mattered. But, yeah, it’s a relief.”<\/p>\n Having already guaranteed a top-15 ranking with his performances this week, Stuttgart Open champion Draper described the match as his “biggest final yet”.<\/p>\n He wasted little time in asserting his authority on the contest as his stellar breakthrough season continued with a devastating first-set display.<\/p>\n Opponent Khachanov, who beat second seed Alex De Minaur and 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini en route to Sunday’s showpiece, was broken from 40-15 up in game three.<\/p>\n That proved to be the decisive moment in an opening set which was wrapped up in 40 minutes after Draper served strongly and produced an array of eye-catching winners.<\/p>\n Khachanov had also been serving well but showed signs of nerves when he was twice broken to love at the start of a second set to fall 4-0 behind.<\/p>\n The match appeared to have slipped away from the 28-year-old but he gave Draper plenty to ponder by impressively moving 5-4 ahead during a substantial momentum shift.<\/p>\n However, the Briton regained his composure at a crucial moment to secure his first ATP 500 title thanks to a gruelling victory in an hour and 35 minutes.<\/p>\n “There are so many amazing players in this draw and to win my first ATP 500 it feels incredible,” added Draper.<\/p>\n “I’m incredibly happy, I’m so proud of myself and my team and all the work we put in – it’s for moments like this, so I’m going to enjoy it.”<\/p>\n Khachanov joked: “I felt like I was playing the PlayStation at the beginning. I played here, he played there. No chance!”<\/p>\n Draper reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Sofia last November, where he narrowly lost to France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3.<\/p>\n He picked up where he left off at the start of 2024 – defeating three top-40 players to make his second ATP final in Adelaide, but once again finished as runner-up, this time to Jiri Lehecka.<\/p>\n Draper reached his third ATP final – this time on grass in Stuttgart – in June and after wins over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima he defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini to make it third-time lucky.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old battled back from a set down to beat the Italian 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.<\/p>\n The win also meant that he overtook Cameron Norrie to become the 19th man to be British No 1 in the Open era.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n
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\n Allow Cookies Once<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\nTale of the Tape<\/h3>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/24\/10\/768x432\/skysports-jack-draper-vienna_6729869.jpg\")
\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDraper joins British greats as ATP 500 winners<\/h3>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/24\/10\/768x432\/skysports-jack-draper-tennis_6729870.jpg\")
\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBritish No 1 continues to climb the rankings<\/h3>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/24\/10\/768x432\/skysports-jack-draper-tennis_6729874.jpg\")
\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDraper’s remarkable 12 months<\/h3>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/24\/10\/768x432\/skysports-jack-draper-tennis_6729871.jpg\")
\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n ![\"JACK](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/24\/09\/768x432\/skysports-jack-draper-jannik-sinner_6678547.jpg\")
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