Draper takes out Lehecka to meet Rublev in Doha final

© AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 21/02/2025 à 21h30

1 min to read

Auger-Aliassime Doha Draper Lehecka Rublev

Jack Draper outplayed Jiri Lehecka on Friday to win his semi-final in Doha and join Andrey Rublev, who had struggled earlier in the day against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Briton, who was making his return to competition this week after retiring from the Australian Open, won a battle lasting over two hours against Jiri Lehecka, yesterday's loser of Carlos Alcaraz.

The Czech's aggressive play had put him in the lead to win the first set, but Draper was able to rely on his 14 aces, 33 winners and 88% of points won behind his first serve to win the tie-break of the second set and make the decisive break at the end of the match.

In tomorrow's final, he will face Andrey Rublev, who needed almost three hours of play (2h46) to see off Felix Auger-Aliassime (7-5, 4-6, 7-6).

Although he came through, the Russian suffered in this semi-final against the Canadian's 52 (!) winning shots.

Rublev will be aiming for his second title in Doha after 2020, while Draper, who has won nine consecutive ATP 500 tournaments, will be aiming for a third career title after Stuttgart and Vienna last year.