Jack Draper Reaches Japan Open Last 16 After Beating Mattia Bellucci
Britain's Jack Draper has progressed to the last 16 of the Japan Open after securing a straight-set victory over Mattia Bellucci, winning 6-4 6-2, BBC reported. This match marked Draper's first win since his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the US Open semi-finals earlier this month. The 22-year-old’s performance showed a positive turnaround following a disappointing showing at the Davis Cup in Manchester, where he experienced straight-set losses to Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, resulting in Great Britain's failure to reach the knockout stage.
In the Japan Open match against Bellucci, Draper narrowly claimed the first set before dominating the second, ultimately establishing a 5-1 lead. Draper's success here reflects his return to form. He is set to face Polish second seed Hubert Hurkacz on Friday.
Other tournament results included Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’s 4-6 6-1 6-2 loss to American Alex Michelsen, American fifth seed Tommy Paul’s 6-3 6-2 victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, and Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka's narrow win against Auger-Aliassime, edging the Canadian 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) in a grueling three-hour and 12-minute match.
Meanwhile, in the China Open, British number three Harriet Dart suffered a 7-5 4-6 1-6 defeat in her first-round match against Denmark's Clara Tauson.
Earlier, SSP wrote that Dubois poised to tackle Usyk in the next big fight.
