Draper beats Fritz at Paris Masters to set up de Minaur clash

Jack Draper defeated Taylor Fritz at the Paris Masters on Thursday morning (AEDT), keeping his hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals alive with a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4 victory.

The Brit has now won seven matches in a row on the ATP Tour, having claimed his maiden ATP 500 title at the Vienna Open last week.

Draper’s serving and defence made the difference in what was a tight back-and-forth affair, with the 22-year-old winning 77% of his first serves and forcing Fritz to play 30 more points on serve over the two-hour, 22-minute clash.

“I competed really well,” Draper said after the match.

“My tennis wasn’t great but that’s the fast conditions.

“I don’t think anyone is finding it easy to play.

“Not a lot of rallies, the court’s incredibly fast so it’s tough to hit really good groundstrokes and be consistent.

“But I looked after my serve, I tried my hardest, I competed really well, and I got over the line against a top‑10 player so I’m feeling really happy with that.”

Draper’s win over No.6 Fritz is his fourth victory over top-10 opponents since June and puts him at a career-high ranking of No.14 in the world.

Next up, the Brit plays Australia’s Alex de Minaur, with plenty on the line in the round of 16.

A victory for de Minaur would put him ahead of Andrey Rublev in the Race to Turin, moving the Aussie into a qualifying position for the ATP Finals with one week remaining to accrue points.

For Draper, he needs to go all the way and win the title in Paris if he is to have a shot at making his maiden year-end championship appearance.

Tennis betting sites are giving the Englishman a strong chance, putting him as a -151.52 favourite to defeat de Minaur despite being ranked five places behind him.

The Aussie is at +120 to win, reflective of his lack of match-time since coming back from a hip injury suffered at Wimbledon.

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