Newly-crowned British number one Jack Draper celebrated his coronation in perfect fashion by clinching his maiden ATP Tour title at the Stuttgart Open, beating Italy's Matteo Berrettini in a three-set final.
The 22-year-old had already assured himself of first place in the Great Britain men's singles charts thanks to a stellar start to the grass-court season, defeating 2023 holder Frances Tiafoe en route to the showpiece match.
Standing in his way of glory was a man who had conquered Stuttgart in 2019 and 2022, but Draper produced a brilliant comeback to prevail 3-6 7-6[5] 6-4 and become an ATP Tour champion for the first time.
The British number one had fallen to defeat in his first two top-level finals in Sofia and Adelaide, and Berrettini harnessed his wealth of experience in the first set to put one hand on the trophy.
However, Draper mixed up his game excellently with powerful winners and delicate drop shots and volleys to level the match in a tense second-set tie-breaker, before crucially breaking Berrettini for a 4-3 lead in the final set courtesy of a slick cross-court backhand.
The Italian held to love to force Draper to serve for the championship, but after bringing up three match points, it was only fitting for Draper - whose serving had been exceptional all week - to etch his name on the trophy with a 12th ace of the day.
Draper's terrific week in Stuttgart will no doubt raise hopes of a deep run at Wimbledon for the 22-year-old, whose preparations continue in next week's Queen's Club Championships, where he faces Argentina's Mariano Navone in round one before a potential second-round showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Ben Knapton
