In the sweltering Australian summer, Jack Draper was not in the mood to wait. They say that retribution is best served cold. The British player, 21, bounced back at the Adelaide International 2 on Thursday with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory, one week after falling to Karen Khachanov in Adelaide. With the win, Draper advanced to his second ATP Tour semifinal, where he will face Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea.
Draper was aggressive from the opening ball and saved the first break point he encountered before stepping to the line to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second. Third-seeded Khachanov was given new life by a sloppy game, but a clearly angry Draper rallied to win the game.
Draper defeated the World No. 20 after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas (Montreal) and Felix Auger-Aliassime in two Top 10 matches previous season (US Open). The Briton, who entered the tournament at a career-high ranking of No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will attempt to advance further against lucky loser Kwon, who secured his own semifinal spot with a straightforward 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mikael Ymer.