Fatigued Draper beaten by Cerundolo as Great Britain lose to Argentina in Davis Cup
The British No 1 returned to action for the Davis Cup against Argentina, but was under-par against an impressive Cerundolo
Jack Draper, Davis Cup, 2023 © Zuma / Panoramic
Just one week on from a brutal US Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner in the stifling humidity of New York City, Jack Draper was back in action to represent Great Britain in the group stage of the Davis Cup.
Despite being spurred on by a vocal but disappointingly sparse home crowd in Manchester, Draper fell to a 7-6 (4), 7-5 loss to the greatly impressive Francisco Cerundolo. The defeat left Great Britain with an unassailable 2-0 deficit against Argentina after Dan Evans had earlier been defeated by Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
It is testament to Draper’s commitment to his home country that he has chosen to participate in this year’s Davis Cup group stage, having broken new ground at a Grand Slam by reaching the last four at Flushing Meadows just seven days ago.
His semi-final loss to eventual champion Sinner was a long, physical slog in hot and humid conditions, the exertions from which resulted in Draper twice being sick on court.
Having only just landed back from the US on Tuesday, the British No 1 was left out of the team’s opening group tie against Finland – a tie Great Britain won 2-1 after a superb Davis Cup debut by world No 101 Billy Harris, who is enjoying a stellar breakthrough year on tour.
Draper returned to the line-up for the considerable challenge of an experienced Argentinian contingent, but looked a step short against the perennially dangerous Cerundolo, who produced what he described as “the match of my life.”
The Briton did not look as sharp or clinical as he did at the US Open, and understandably so. With so many high-profile matches still in his legs, perhaps this match-up came just that little bit too soon for Draper to give the best account of himself. Not that he did not play well, but against an opponent of today’s calibre, in hindsight it felt like a tall order.
Although most formidable on his favoured clay courts, the Argentinian is a threat on all surfaces and proved so again today as he outclassed his opponent for much of the contest.
Cerundolo’s one-two punch on serve was particularly potent, leaving Draper with few opportunities to break.
Nevertheless, the Briton twice recovered from a one-break deficit in the first set only for Cerundolo to deservedly clinch it on a tiebreak.
Draper took the fight to his opponent in the second set, breaking in the opening game before being pegged straight back in the next. The rest of the stanza remained close, before the Argentine struck the fatal blow in the twelfth and final game to seal an admirable win and earn his country a first victory in the group.
Evans and doubles specialist Neal Skupski will have the chance to end the tie on a positive note for the Brits when they take on Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the finals doubles match this evening, the outcome of which could prove pivotal in the final group standings.
Yet, Great Britain have missed the chance to seal safe passage into the Davis Cup Finals at the first time of asking, meaning a tight group looks likely to go down to the wire as the final ties are played across this coming weekend.
evans goes down to etcheverry to set argentina on their way
In the first match of the tie, Evans was beaten 6-2, 7-5 by Etcheverry to give Argentina a 1-0 foothold in the tie.
After a difficult season, during which he has fallen to 178 in the world, Evans was unable to build on a gutsy win against 703rd-ranked Eero Vasa in Great Britain’s tie against Finland, as an uncertain first set gave way to a closer second before Etcheverry’s quality eventually told.
Two breaks in the opening set followed by a late break in the eleventh game of the second did the damage for Evans, as Etcheverry set the tone for remainder of this tie.
Argentina’s victory gives them hope of qualification, after having lost 2-1 to Canada in their opening group tie.
Meanwhile, Great Britain will most likely have to beat 2022 champions Canada to guarantee progression into the Davis Cup Finals, which take place in Malaga between 19 – 24 November.
It will be intriguing to see whether British team captain Leon Smith opts to stick with his talisman Draper for the tie against the Canadians, or if the in-form but less experienced Billy Harris will be trusted to produce another performance well above his ranking for Great Britain.
