Jack Draper, Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie all win on encouraging day for Brits ahead of Australian Open
Jack Draper into the semi-finals of the Adelaide International, while Cameron Norrie also reached the last four at the ASB Classic in Auckland and Andy Murray continued his encouraging start to 2023 by advancing at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne
Thursday 12 January 2023 12:29, UK
Jack Draper reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide International, while Cameron Norrie stayed perfect in 2023 and Andy Murray sealed another encouraging win.
Draper, who was drawn to face top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the Australian Open, turned the tables at the Adelaide International to defeat Karen Khachanov.
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The 21-year-old beat Khachanov at the US Open last summer but lost to the Russian in the first Adelaide tournament last week.
It was a different story on Thursday though, as British No 3 Draper took control of proceedings and clinched a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over the third seed, beating a top-20 opponent for the sixth time.
Draper had a minor wobble when he was broken trying to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set but he recovered impressively to take it in the tie-break.
Draper said in his on-court interview: "Against guys like Karen, you can't give them an inch. I got a bit nervous but that's all part of the game.
"I'm still young, still learning. It was a good match. I did well to impose my game a little bit more today than last week."
The young Londoner lost his first semi-final at Eastbourne last summer and was also beaten in the last four at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November for the best young players.
Norrie improved to 5-0 on the year following a 6-1 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 victory against Marcos Giron to make it through to the semi-finals at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The British No 1 has now won four straight three-setters dating back to his triumphs against Nadal and Taylor Fritz at the inaugural United Cup.
"I came out firing and really was enjoying my level and playing well," he said. "I made it really tricky for myself, played a loose game to start the second set. Just a lack of concentration. I was able to come back and then he played a better tie-break than me, he was more aggressive and he executed better. He deserved it.
"Then I came out [in the third set] and played kind of similar to the first set and took it to him, and exposed his backhand."
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Murray claimed an encouraging 6-3 6-3 victory over Australian Alex De Minaur at the exhibition Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
He later teamed up with Nadal, Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska and Marta Kostyuk for the #TennisPlaysforPeace exhibition event to support the humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country.
