26 October 2024
The new winning face at the 2.626 million euro Erste Bank Open in Vienna belongs to either Jack Draper or Karen Chatschanow. The Briton, seeded number 7, defeated the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (number 6) on Saturday after 1:48 hours with 6:2,6:4. Afterwards, the unseeded Russian Karen Khachanow eliminated the tournament’s number two, the Australian Alex de Minaur, with the same result. The final will take place on Sunday (2 p.m./live ServusTV).
Draper is the fourth Briton to reach the Stadthalle final after Greg Rusedski (1996), Tim Henman (1999) and Andy Murray (2014, 2016). “I’m very happy to be in my first 500 final. It’s nice that all the work I’ve put in is being rewarded,” said Draper happily. However, he had some difficulties with his physical condition at the finish.
“I knew this week would be challenging because I was quite sick. I had a minor injury in Asia and then I had tonsillitis,” Draper said. He is someone who sweats a lot on the pitch and sometimes has difficulty absorbing enough fluids. In the head-to-head with Musetti, Draper made it 3-0.
The 22-year-old Draper is in a final at ATP 500 level for the first time, and it is his fourth overall. The US Open semi-finalist won his first ATP tournament in Stuttgart this year.
Khachanov then continued his current winning streak. The newly crowned Almaty winner took the momentum from Kazakhstan well and, like Draper, only gave up one set on the way to the final for the check worth 461,920 euros.
“I feel great. There’s nothing I have to complain about, right?” said Khachanov in the mixed zone of the town hall. “That’s what you work for. Once things are going like that, you want to continue that way. “I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself, I just want to enjoy how I’m playing at the moment,” said the Russian after his eighth win in a row.
Khachanov has a 2-1 record against Draper, but the Brit only really took off this year. “I know him quite well. He is in the final and is having his best season so far.” Khachanov was cautious about Draper’s statements that he was quite exhausted due to the after-effects of his illness. “That’s good to know, but he has time to freak out. In the final you always have an extra push and more adrenaline – he will be ready.”
Like Daniil Medvedev last year, Khachanov is once again a Russian in the final. Before the anniversary final of the 50th edition of the Stadthalle tournament, it is clear that none of the contenders for a place at the ATP Finals in Vienna were able to score big points in the battle in the field of the top eight. Casper Ruud (NOR) and Andrej Rublew (RUS) will remain in seventh and eighth place despite previous defeats in Basel. De Minaur could have moved up to seventh place with a tournament win.
