Jack Draper has warned the Australian Open crowd that “the more they shout, the better I will play.”
The Brit, who made the last four at the US Open several months ago, saw off a home player in Thanassi Kokkinakis, overcoming him in five sets. Draper had to face heavy noise from the Aussie crowd, often copping boos as he eventually concluded his match five minutes short of midnight.
Draper was more than willing to give it back to the crowd as the calls from umpire Marijana Veljovic for silence fell on deaf ears. The 23-year-old ultimately allowed the Australian crowd to spur him on.
Draper broke the world No.71 to love when he served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth and chose to cup his ear to the crowd. That only served to crank up the volume under the roof and whilst Draper admits some of the verbals couldn’t be repeated, he warned the Australians that they’ll only rev him up.
He said: “It was a tough atmosphere to deal with but I had a little bit of fun back too. It was an electric atmosphere. Obviously getting quite a lot of abuse from the crowd in between serves the back of the court and all that sort of stuff. They were saying some interesting things for sure. I don’t want to say. With the whistling and the talking, when you are about to serve, it’s really difficult.
“Sometimes you don’t want to sort of rile them or give it back. But it gave me energy doing that. It’s nice to sort of just give it like a bit of an ear or something like that .I have a thick skin. It’s fun. I was watching the FA Cup. Everyone was getting on Ange’s (Postecoglou) back the other night, and he just stood there taking it. It’s good sport. It’s entertainment.”
Draper eventually won 6-7 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3 – which is his second five-set win in three days after he opened his tournament win a success over Mariano Navone.
The Brit best prepare himself for another hostile atmosphere as his next opponent is also a home player. Aussie Aleksandar Vukic beat No.22 seed Seb Korda in five sets to set up a clash with Draper.
Draper headed to Melbourne with concerns over his physical condition having missed the bulk of his pre-season with a hip injury, but he’s impressed with how his body is holding up as he looks to reach the levels that took him to the last four of the most recent Grand Slam.
“It’s been really difficult in the last few years with question marks over long matches and backing up performances,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m playing my best tennis. Obviously I’ve had a tough preparation, but I’m proud of my mentality, my body and the way I competed.”
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