Draper powers to victory against Rune at UTS Grand Final

London felt The Power on Friday night as home hope Jack Draper of Great Britain turned in a scintillating display to win his first-ever match in UTS, beating Holger Rune, “The Viking”, 16-8, 16-7, 17-11.

“I just played my game,” Draper said afterwards, with understatement, adding words of praise for Rune: “Amazing to play Holger, [our] first match, he’s a young, exceptional player, top ten, someone I’ve been watching win a lot of big tournaments, so it’s nice to share the court with him in London.”

The two youngest players in the tournament faced off to begin their campaigns at the UTS Grand Final, with Rune returning to a format he played three years ago as a stand-in for Matteo Berrettini.

Draper: UTS is “carnage”

But it was Draper who got off to the best start; The Power won his first quarter in UTS competition 16-8, heading off and describing the fast pace as “carnage”.

The 21-year-old was serving sensationally, much to the glee of his coach James Trotman, who was encouraging him throughout, and moved to a 16-7 lead in the second quarter.

Rune fell away even more in the third quarter, making more and more mistakes, while Draper grew in confidence.

The Viking used an underarm serve to good effect, but it was not enough to throw Draper off the path to victory, taking the third quarter 17-11.

Draper now tops Group B after one match for all players thanks to a points average of 23, ahead of second-placed Gael Monfils.

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