Jack Draper, Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie all win on encouraging day for Brits ahead of Australian Open | Tennis News

Jack Draper reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide International, while Cameron Norrie remained perfect in 2023 and Andy Murray had another encouraging victory.

Draper, who was drawn to face top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the Australian Open, turned the tables at the Adelaide International to defeat Karen Khachanov.

The 21-year-old beat Khachanov at the US Open last summer but lost to the Russian in his first Adelaide tournament last week.

But it was a different story on Thursday, as British No. 3 Draper dominated proceedings and cruised to a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory at the third seed, defeating a top 20 opponent for the sixth time.

Draper suffered a minor wobble when he was broken trying to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but he recovered well to take it in the tie-break.

Draper said in an interview in court: “Against a guy like Karen, you can’t give him an inch. I was a little nervous but that’s all part of the game.

“I’m still young, I’m still learning. It was a good match. I did well to apply my game a little more than last week.”

The young Londoner lost in his first semi-final at Eastbourne last summer and was also beaten in the last four at the Next Gen ATP Finals in November for the best young player.

Norrie improved to 5-0 on the year after a 6-1 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 victory over Marcos Giron to reach the semi-finals of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The British No. 1 has now won four straight three-setters back to back triumphs against Nadal and Taylor Fritz in the inaugural United Cup.

“I went out shooting and really liked my level and played well,” he said. “I made it very difficult for myself, played a calm game to start the second set. Just lacked concentration. I was able to come back and then play the tie-break better than me, he was more aggressive and executed. better. He deserved it.

“Then I went out [in the third set] and played like the first set and took it to him, and opened the backhand.

Murray claimed a 6-3 6-3 victory over Australian Alex De Minaur at the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Melbourne.

He then teamed up with Nadal, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska and Marta Kostyuk for the #TennisPlaysforPeace showcase to support humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country.