Britain’s young tennis star,
Jack Draper, won the
Stuttgart Open on Sunday. The 22-year-old defeated Italy’s
Matteo Berrettini in the final in a three-set encounter with a score of 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Draper booked his place in the final of the
competition after beating America’s Brandon Nakashima in the last-four clash in
straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3. On the other hand, Berrettini defeated fellow
Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal in straight sets to cement his spot in
the grand finale with a score of 6-4, 6-0.
In the first set on the big day, Berrettini came out on top with
a score of 6-3. The Italian tennis star was very strong for his opponent, producing 12 winners, seven more than Draper. He ended up
winning 72 percent service points as well.
In the second set, Draper made a grand comeback and secured the set with a score of 7-6. He produced 19 winners, three more than his opponent. He also committed four unforced errors, exactly half of what Berrettini committed.
In the third and the final set, Draper maintained his consistency and finally broke his opponent's serve in the eighth game, which proved to be the difference in the eventual outcome. The Sutton-born star produced 34 winners in the match and also won 75 percent of the net points.
Draper will be extremely pleased with his performance as it is
his first-ever ATP title. It was his best performance this year as well as
previously as previously, his best performance came in the Mexican Open where he was forced
to withdraw from the semifinal against Australia’s Alex de Minaur because of an
injury in the third set. He will next participate in the Queen's ATP Championship, where his first-round opponent will be Mariano Navone of Argentina.
On the other hand, for Berrettini, it was a bad day at the
office as he suffered his sixth defeat in the final of an ATP event. It was his
first loss in the final of an event in nearly two years.
Overall, the Rome-born will be largely satisfied with his
performance as he played in the second final this year. In the previous final in April, he came out on top against Roberto Carballés Baena in
straight sets in Marrakesh with a score of 7-5, 6-2.