Draper gets centre stage in his bid to shock Nadal
JaCK DRaPER’s eagerly awaited first round match against defending champion Rafael Nadal will top the bill on Monday’s opening session of the australian Open.
Emma Raducanu will also play on the first day, but andy Murray will wait until tuesday for his tough assignment against Matteo Berrettini. Draper, 21, features in the first afternoon’s action on the Rod Laver arena, but will not be doing so as the champion of the main atP warm-up event in adelaide.
Yesterday he lost in the semifinals to unseeded Korean Kwon soon-woo, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, perhaps preoccupied by what is to come. On the upside, he was able to get to Melbourne earlier to experience the conditions, and the defeat will also slightly dampen down the hype. there was no such prompt arrival for Cam Norrie, who was this morning due to play in the final of the asB Classic in auckland, facing French veteran Richard Gasquet.
Playing on day two in Melbourne will be Dan Evans, who has floated the idea of tim Henman becoming more formally involved with the elite side of British tennis. Earlier this month Henman was captain of the GB team who reached the quarterfinal of the mixed United Cup event, and he made a favourable impression on the squad. Evans enjoyed playing under Henman, but has also come to a truce with Davis Cup captain Leon smith, whose doubles selections he criticised after failing to make the finals week last year. the 32-year-old Midlander, who will face argentina’s Facundo Bagnis on tuesday, has decided to make himself available for GB’s first round next month against Colombia. Inconveniently, the match will take place on clay in Bogota immediately after the australian Open.
Evans believes it would benefit the Lawn tennis association to make it worth Henman’s while to become more involved.
‘I would be talking out of turn to say you need to pay him properly if you want him helping other people,’ said Evans. ‘I don’t know if that question has been asked or not by the Lta but if it has not, it is staggering. ‘these guys, the ex-players, need to be kept in the game — the very good ones anyway. tim was popular, he was great, he really helped.
‘I think the girls will be the first to say he was amazing for them. He was really easy to be around on court. Not pressuring people, it was simple, basic advice and it probably surprised them a bit that it was so simple.’