Jack Draper defeated Francisco Cerundolo to set up a fourth-round clash with Novak Djokovic in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
The Briton claimed a 6-1 7-5 victory and will now face Djokovic for the first time since Wimbledon in 2021, when the Serb won in four sets on the way to the sixth of his seven titles at the All England Club.
Djokovic booked his place in the fourth round earlier in the day as he beat American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 1-6 6-4 to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2017.
“The tennis is one thing. The person and the player I’ve been watching since I was a young boy… in my opinion he’s the greatest player of all time,” Draper told Sky Sports.
“He’s shown year in, year out through his consistency that he’s the biggest champion of them all.
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Highlights of the Indian Wells match between Novak Djokovic and Aleksandar Kovacevic
“When you go up against him you know he’ll be there mentally, you know he’ll make it an incredibly tough match and play some crazy tennis, and I’m going to have to be ready for that and up my game.
“Definitely going to have to compete hard and prepare well.”
Draper opened the defence of his Indian Wells crown with a victory over Roberto Bautista Agut as he continues his comeback from a lengthy injury lay-off.
The 24-year-old won 79 per cent of first-serve points against Cerundolo but converted just six of 14 break points as he was pushed hard in the second set.
“In the last eight months I’ve really wanted to be back out on court but had to accept that it was going to be a pretty long-term injury I was going to have,” he said.
“It’s really good to get back in the feeling where I’m able to play back-to-back matches because there was a point where if I played one practice session I couldn’t do another one.
“To be here, I’m very grateful regardless of the way I’m playing.”
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Highlights of the Indian Wells match between Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur
Britain’s Cameron Norrie, the 2021 champion at Indian Wells, also advanced to the fourth round thanks to a 6-4 6-4 win over sixth seed Alex de Minaur.
Pegula comes from behind to progress
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Highlights of the Indian Wells match between Jessica Pegula and Jelena Ostapenko.
Jessica Pegula came from a set down to book her place in the next round with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko.
The win saw the American produce 11 aces, the most she has ever managed in a WTA Tour match.
“I think today I had to kind of snap myself back and kind of lock in, because [the negativity] then obviously it starts to affect everything,” Pegula said in press afterward. “I kept telling myself I wasn’t actually playing bad.
“It’s one thing you’re frustrated you’re not playing well. I didn’t think I was playing bad. I thought I was playing pretty well. It was just letting a couple chances, couple breaks here and there, maybe a couple shots that I could have been more aggressive on.”
Belinda Bencic meanwhile defeated Elise Mertens 6-2 6-3 and Karolina Muchova beat Antonia Ruzic 6-0 6-3.
Watch the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells live on Sky Sports until March 15. Stream tennis with NOW, contract-free.
