British No 1 Jack Draper pulls off insane Australian Open comeback after facing boos against home favourite
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British No 1 Jack Draper has completed an incredible comeback in the second round of the Australian Open against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The No 15 seed headed into 2025 after a stellar year last season, which saw him reach the semi-final of the US Open.
He had high hopes of getting off to a fast start in Melbourne, a tournament he has struggled to compete at in the past.
The British star was made to work in his first-round match against Mariano Navone, coming back from 2-1 down to win in five sets.
Jack Draper came back from 2-1 down
GETTY
A tougher test was to come in the second round against Kokkinakis, who had the home crowd roaring him on throughout.
The crowd inside the John Cain Arena made it clear where their allegiances would lie before the match got underway when they booed Draper as he walked out to the court.
There was nothing to separate them in the first set with both players performing strong on serve.
But it was Kokkinakis who found another gear to win the tiebreak and take the opening set.
Draper quickly responded in the second set with a dominant display to level up the match leading to a pulsating third set.
The world No 15 looked on course to get a crucial break of serve in the seventh game, which had eight deuces.
Draper was unable to take either of his two break point opportunities with the crowd raising the noise levels to support Kokkinakis.
And the Aussie star responded in the very next game to break Draper's serve before serving out for the set.
Thanasi Kokkinakis had the home crowd on his side
REUTERS
The energy appeared to be zapped out of Draper heading into the fourth set and Kokkinakis took advantage by going a break up early in the fourth set to put him on the verge of victory.
Draper was struggling to find a way to challenge Kokkinakis' serve, who dropped just six points through his first four service games of the set.
But that all changed when Kokkinakis was serving for the match as nerves appeared to creep into the 28-year-old's game.
Draper was on the brink of exit but incredibly broke Kokkinakis in back-to-back service games to take the fourth and force a deciding set.
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Jack Draper is through to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time
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Kokkinakis required treatment after the gruelling fourth set, but Draper was unable to find a way past his resolute opponent in the early stages of the decider.
The deciding moment came in the eighth game when Kokkinakis dropped a volley into the net to give Draper the break before the British star served out for the match to complete an impressive comeback.
Draper is now through to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, where he will face another Aussie in Aleksandar Vukic.
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