Jack Draper thrashed Christopher O’Connell 6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in Doha.
Draper is playing his first tournament since he made the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he won three consecutive five-set matches.
The British No 1 was expected to play Novak Djokovic in the last eight but the Serbian was surprisingly beaten. Instead, Draper will play Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands or Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Draper, who is looking to win just his second ATP 500 title, was rarely threatened by O’Connell and produced moments of brilliance throughout the match.
He broke O’Connell’s serve immediately and established a two-break lead on his way to the first set and only dropped one game in the second set.
Later on Wednesday evening, top seed Carlos Alcaraz takes on Luca Nardi on Sky Sports Tennis.
Swiatek through to Dubai Open quarter-finals
Over at the Dubai Open, second seed Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals while two of her main competitors, Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula, were knocked out.
The Polish player beat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 7-5 6-0. Her next opponent will be either Peyton Sterns or Mirra Andreeva.
Fourth-seeded Paolini lost to Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-0 as she suffered a right ankle injury during the second set, which limited her movements on the court.
A tearful Paolini got a medical timeout and had her ankle immobilized, but could not challenge Kenin after the injury.
The American’s adversary in the quarter-finals will be Elena Rybakina, who beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-2) in one of the tournament’s most intense battles so far.
Czechia star Linda Noskova beat Pegula 6-3 7-6 (10-8) and could play Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight.
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Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker and the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch will be live on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!
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