Jack Draper won the Vienna Open in style with an impressive 6-4 7-5 victory over Karen Khachanov in the final. The young Brit, who reached the semi-finals of the US Open, made his superiority count despite the match being disrupted by an unruly fan.
It marked the biggest achievement of Draper’s fledgling career, with the 22-year-old having never won an ATP 500 title prior to his victory over Khachanov. He only dropped one set across his five matches in Vienna on his way to the title.
Draper made a fast start to proceedings in the first set but had to cope with a disruption when a rowdy fan started shouting in the direction of Khachanov. The 28-year-old was riled up and marched over to the side of the court as the rest of the crowd booed loudly.
The chair umpire pleaded with Khachanov to keep his composure and insisted the match would not resume until the culprit had been identified and thrown out of the arena. Security officials acted swiftly to escort the disruptive fan out of the venue.
After a short delay, the match resumed and it did not take Draper long to wrap up the first set. He had a tougher time in the second set, with Khachanov turning up the heat in a desperate attempt to claw his way back into the contest.
He was unable to turn the tide, though, with Draper getting the job done in straight sets to get his hands on the Vienna Open trophy. In his post-match interview, he gave full credit to Khachanov for stepping up his level towards the end of the match.
“I was playing so well and the momentum shifted a little bit,” said Draper. “Honestly, I didn’t feel like I was too nervous or too tight, I just missed a few balls here and there and a couple of wrong decisions.
“Karen started swinging, he started picking up his level and that is testament to how good he is. He’s a fighter and obviously he was in great form. It got really tight for a minute but I stayed solid. I stayed mentally in a good frame.
“Luckily, I was able to come through when it mattered. I’ve loved being here. Vienna is an incredible tournament. There are so many amazing players on this tour and to win my first ATP 500 feels incredible.
“I’m incredibly happy and so proud of myself and my team. All of the work we put in is for moments like this.”
