Draper, Rublev survive thrillers to make Doha final

Jack Draper and Andrey Rublev will meet in the Qatar Open final after both won three-set thrillers on Friday in Doha.

Rublev was first to advance to the championship match, edging out Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5) in two hours and 47 minutes.

The No.5 seed entered the match as a -142.86 favourite across tennis bookmakers but was made to work hard as Auger-Aliassime put on a serving masterclass.

The Russian survived 21 aces from his opponent, booking his first final since August 2024.

“It took everything. It was super tough today,” Rublev said.

“I felt like there was not much I can do if he is serving like that.

“I just needed to be really lucky to break him.

“He was serving well and I was just saying, ‘Okay, I cannot do much, this is one of the best servers on Tour. I just need to try to guess and when I have a moment, just go for it.’

“At 6-5 was the only match point I had, a good opportunity, and I missed by a little bit.

“But it happened [eventually].”

In the day’s other semi-final Draper prevailed against Jiri Lehecka in his second consecutive three-setter, improving his record in deciding sets to 10 wins from his last 11.

The Brit showed some brilliant touch over the course of the two-hour, 22-minute match, regularly catching Lehecka behind the baseline with deft drop shots and well-placed volleys.

He served well too, recording 14 aces and winning 88% of first serve points to make his fifth ATP Tour final.

“I feel good,” Draper said after the victory.

“My body feels pretty good.

“It’s been obviously a tough couple of matches, but I’m getting used to playing more this intensity back-to-back.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I’ll give it my all, and I feel good.”

Tennis betting sites have the Qatar Open final as a virtual coin flip, with Draper narrowly ahead in the betting odds.

BetOnline has the match priced at -121.95 to -105.26 in the 23-year-old’s favour, setting the game handicap at just 0.5.

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