Fresh off becoming the fourth British man to win an ATP 500 title, Jack Draper aims to carry that momentum into the Paris Masters, beginning with Tuesday's tournament-opening match against Jiri Lehecka.
Draper ended Karen Khachanov's perfect 4-0 record in indoor tour-level finals to secure the title and aims to avenge his loss to the Czechia player in Adelaide at the start of the year.
Match preview
© Imago
A promising week for Britain's No. 1 player got even better in Vienna, where he clinched a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Khachanov to seal his first ATP 500 title and second on the men's tour.
The 22-year-old fought off a second-set fightback from his Russian opponent, who surged into a 5-4 lead despite trailing 0-4 before the British star rallied to regain control and clinch the biggest title of his career.
He hopes to refocus and avoid the trap of falling to an early loss following a significant triumph when he takes to the court against Lehecka in Paris, keen to improve on his 37-21 season.
Draper enters the ATP 1000 event aspiring to improve his 6-7 record at Masters events in 2024, even if he reached the quarter-final in Cincinnati before an outstanding run to the US Open semis.
With three of his six wins at the 1000 tournaments this season coming before that loss to Holger Rune in August, the new world No. 15 aims to clinch his 38th win of 2024 in his first-round match.
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On the opposite side of the net is Lehecka, whose motivation heading into the final ATP 1000 event of 2024 should be sky-high after his Basel disappointment.
The 22-year-old was one of the players backed for a deep run at the ATP 500 event in Switzerland, only to fall in the opening round in two sets to Pedro Martinez.
That tournament-opening loss followed the 22-year-old's run to the Antwerp final, but he failed to maintain the same momentum the next week.
With his batteries possibly recharged, Lehecka seeks an 11th Masters 1000 success of the season against the British player, aiming to improve his 10-5 2024 record at such tournaments.
Only Alexei Popyrin has managed to beat the Czech player early at 1000 events this year — a round-of-64 loss in Miami — and Lehecka hopes to avoid an opening defeat for the fourth ATP 1000 event running
Head To Head
Adelaide (2024) - Final: Lehecka 4-6 6-4 6-3
Lehecka's only ATP Tour title came at Draper's expense, with the Czech player claiming the championship match in Adelaide despite losing the opening set.
The Briton may have notched success in Stuttgart on grass and recently in Vienna but needs no extra motivation to beat Tuesday's opponent and tie their head-to-head.
We say: Draper to win in three sets
Although the rigours of clinching a title cannot be watered down, refocussing after a championship win is nearly as important. While players intermittently deliver out-of-sorts performances after triumphs, we back Draper to outdo a motivated Lehecka in Paris.
