- By Jonathan Jurejko
- ` Sport at Melbourne Park
January 16, 2024, 05:10 GMT
Updated 40 minutes ago
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Jack Draper felt the physical effects after winning the Australian Open for the first time in his senior career
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Venue: Melbourne Park. Dates: 14th – 28th January |
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Coverage: Commentary from 06:00 GMT on Tuesday's Tennis Breakfast on Radio 5 Sports Extra and ` Sounds, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the ` Sport website and app |
Britain's Jack Draper fought through the heat of the Australian Open to win his first five-setter – and then vomited on the side of the court after the victory.
Draper called the doctor and had his blood pressure checked before beating American Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in temperatures above 30°C.
Earlier, Cameron Norrie showed no signs of wrist problems as he won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 against Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas.
Katie Boulter also progressed with a 7:5, 7:6 (7:1) win over China's Yuan Yue.
Fellow Brits Emma Raducanu and Dan Evans play later on Tuesday.
Norrie, the 19th seed, Draper and Boulter are the only players in the country to have progressed so far, with Jodie Burrage and Andy Murray losing on the first two days of the tournament.
Draper achieves a satisfying victory after physical difficulties
When Draper needed medical attention at the end of the second set and disappeared from the court after the first game of the third set, it seemed a familiar story.
The 22-year-old has struggled with numerous physical problems and early retirements in his budding career.
Playing in sweltering temperatures on the hottest day of the tournament so far, Draper appeared to be in deep trouble as he trailed two sets to one.
Instead, he recovered admirably and achieved one of his most satisfying victories.
Draper won eight games in a row, turning the game in his favor and doing so by instructing his team to keep the score as short as possible through more variety in serve-and-volleys, slices and drops.
In the decider, Draper broke again to make it 4-2 after out-running and overtaking Giron on the break ball in a brilliant exchange.
This left the Brit leaning over the side of the pitch to catch his breath, his physical exertion even more apparent as he clinched victory.
After stretching for a forehand winner on his first match point, Draper shook Giron's hand before immediately running to a courtside trash can to vomit.
Norrie is happy about the opening win
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Norrie, ranked 22nd in the world, never made it past the third round of the Australian Open
Before the match, the left-handed Norrie said he was “concerned” about a problem with his left wrist that forced him to pull out of an ATP event in Auckland five days ago.
Norrie, Britain's highest-ranked singles player, is safely through and will next face Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.
After a poor end to last year in which he admitted to feeling burnt out, Norrie is looking to bounce back in 2024 and get past the third round in Melbourne for the first time.
After parrying a break point in his first service game, Norrie quickly asserted his authority by taking advantage of Varillas' poor service play.
Norrie applied heavy pressure as the Peruvian barely landed a first serve, eventually earning a sixth break point for a 3-2 lead, enough to secure the first set.
With Varillas' first serve rate having fallen below 45%, Norrie managed a double break early in the second set, allowing him to drop serve before breaking it on the second opportunity.
Varillas double-faulted in the third round, giving him another break to make it 2-1, and Norrie continued to run well.
He took his opponent's serve for the fifth time before ending Varillas' late resistance by securing his third match point in a pleasing opening performance.
“I think I did the basics well. I served well in the big moments and I think I won a lot of points when I hit them on my first serve,” Norrie said.
“I don’t think I served that well, but I didn’t lose many points on my first serve, which was good to see.”
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