Jack Draper beats Matteo Berrettini in Stuttgart Open final for first ATP Tour title
Jack Draper, the British tennis player ranked as number one, achieved his very first ATP Tour championship by making an admirable comeback and defeating Matteo Berrettini from Italy with a score of 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Berrettini's impressive performance, including great serving and powerful shots, allowed him to win the first set 6-3. The second set was closely contested, with both players managing to keep their serve intact throughout the entire set. In fact, Draper had two opportunities to claim the set at 5-4, but unfortunately he was unable to capitalize on them.
After enduring a tough phase, Berrettini missed out on seizing two opportunities to break Draper's serve at 5-5. Despite this setback, Draper exhibited courage by persevering and winning the tie-break 7-5, thereby pushing the match into a final set.
During the match, Draper made the crucial move at 3-3 in the third set, allowing him to take the lead and win by holding serve twice.
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Before, the 22-year-old made it to the finals of two ATP 250 events but unfortunately lost both times. The first loss was to Adrian Mannarino from France during the Sofia Open in November 2023 while the second one was to Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic at the Adelaide International in January.
"That's amazing. I appreciate all the encouragement. The game was really challenging, and I'm overjoyed to have won my inaugural championship. It holds great significance for me," commented Draper after the match.
The journey has had its fair share of challenges and difficult moments. There were moments of success and moments of disappointment, but I'm pleased with my performance overall. It shows that the effort I put into my preparation paid off in the end.
On Tuesday, I am scheduled to participate in a tennis match in London. In this sport, there is very little room for jubilation and festivities.
Berrettini, who was the runner-up in a previous tournament, has earned a total of eight championships throughout his time on the ATP Tour. Among these are two victories at the Stuttgart Open and five on grass courts.
"Kudos to Jack! He had an astounding week and the match was beyond amazing. I have no doubt this individual will win many more championships," commented the Italian.
I approached the game closely and it may cause some pain temporarily, but such is the nature of tennis. I am optimistic that this marks the beginning of the grass-court season.
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