Indian Wells, March 12 – Jack Draper achieved one of the best wins of his career at the Indian Wells Open, defeating five-time champion Novak Djokovic to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Draper weathered all of Djokovic’s attacks and launched his own counter-offensive to win one of the tournament’s most exciting matches, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).
Draper, who is on a nine-match winning streak in the California desert, will face two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.
In the opening set, which saw nine consecutive service games, it was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic who broke first, taking a 6-4 lead.
After an exchange of breaks early in the second set, Draper took control. A break at love in the ninth game set the stage and gave the Brit a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. He capitalized on the opportunity, and with the score tied, the best was yet to come in the deciding set.
The defining point of the match occurred at 30-all in the first game of the deciding set. Djokovic ran the length of the court three times before finally winning the point with a drop shot that clipped the tape.
Djokovic gained a 0/40 lead when Draper served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, eventually earning a break, but the 24-year-old quickly recovered and held his nerve in the deciding-set tie-break.
Displaying the same steely form that carried him to victory last year, Draper continued to apply pressure and scored a break for 2-1. However, the break disappeared when Draper failed to serve out the match, losing 5-all.
The two-hour, 35-minute test of wills finally came to an end two points later, with Draper holding steady from the baseline to secure the victory.
