In a blockbuster winner-takes-all clash at Thursday’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, it was Jack Draper who performed and performed, beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti 4-1, 4-0, 4-3 (3) to the semifinals in Milan.
Draper and Musetti entered the game with a 1-1 record in the Red Group, knowing that only a win would be enough to join Dominic Stricker in the final four. In front of a packed Italian crowd, Draper produced a relentless display to silence the home fans and punch holes in the Musetti defenses with his fierce ground attacks to advance.
“Yesterday I played a little bit better than my first game and today I really hit some form,” said Draper. “I played well, served well. Lorenzo is a great player and he may have been a little tired after his game yesterday, but I’m happy with the way I played today.”
Making his debut at the 21-and-under event, the 20-year-old flew out of the blocks and hit his flat backhand through the field. The Italian, who fell at the start of the second set, was unable to cope with Draper’s aggressive forehand and swinging lefty, with the Briton overpowering the Italian to take his 19th tour-level win of the season.
“I like crowds, whether they’re with me or not,” Draper said. “This is what I wanted to do when I was younger. I wanted to entertain people. That’s why I train every day.”
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With his 56-minute win, Draper set up a semifinal meeting on Friday against 21-year-old American Brandon Nakashima. Stricker will face Jiri Lehecka in the other semifinal.
Draper has had a breakthrough year. He won four ATP Challenger Tour titles, before upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal.
Home favorite Musetti won tour-level awards in Hamburg and Naples this season, but failed to find his best level in Milan and fell in the round-robin stage for the second consecutive season.
