British No.1 Jack Draper dominates Sebastian Baez, easing into the second round at Wimbledon in just over an hour after his Argentine opponent conceded due to injury
Jack Draper put on a clinical performance to demolish Sebastian Baez and cruise into the second round at Wimbledon. The British No.1 needed just 74 minutes to get the job done on Court One, displaying all his power and ability, without really getting out of third gear.
Baez had been struggling with an injury following a slip in the first set and decided to concede after falling 2-1 behind in the third set. It was a wise decision, with Draper dominating every point. He took it 6-2, 6-2, 2-1.
Draper spoke about stepping into the shoes of Andy Murray, assuming the title – and the pressure – that comes with being the home favourite. And he came good on that promise, producing a superb display of power hitting to show why he could be a contender this year.
It took him just 26 minutes to wrap up the first set – and that time included the few minutes Baez required to be seen by the physio after slipping during a rally.
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The No.4 seed dominated exchanges from the baseline, unleashing a number of huge forehands to great effect.
He served brilliantly, powering in some enormous first serves, peppering the white lines with regularity to end with 10 aces. His Argentine opponent, the world No.38, had no answers and found himself two sets down in just over an hour after Draper took all four of his break point opportunities.
That streak continued when he broke at the first opportunity in the third set and Baez gave up, conceding the match with a handshake. Having only just warmed up, Draper admitted he wanted to play longer.
Draper is comfortable taking the mantle from Murray – and this performance showed why he is ready.
“I think obviously when Andy retired, they said I was the next in line for that. I know it’s Wimbledon coming up, but I think I didn’t really think about it then, and I’ve improved so much and put myself in this position,” Draper said.
“Kind of the same thing. I’ll keep trying to do my best to keep try and improving, to show my best tennis out there, to hopefully present myself as the player and the person I want to be.
“Obviously Andy has done an unbelievable job of that and has been incredibly successful and has become adored by the nation. It’s obviously big shoes to fill. I’m aware of that. At the same time I’m confident in myself that hopefully I can inspire people like Andy has done, myself.”
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