Jack Draper smashes racket after blowing two match points in brutal Miami Open loss
Jack Draper crashed out of the Miami Open after holding two match points against Nicolas Jarry.
Jack Draper smashed his racket as he came out on the losing end of a brutal battle at the Miami Open. The British No. 2 had two match points but 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry came through 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(2) as Draper's body started to give up on him.
Draper suffered a heartbreaking defeat as he crashed out to Jarry despite serving for all three sets. The 22-year-old stormed back from a set down and led by a break in the third, serving for the match at 5-4.
He led 40-15 with two match points but couldn't convert them and was dragged into a final set tiebreak while clearly struggling in the hot and humid conditions. Draper looked physically spent as he doubled over when Jarry took a double mini-break lead at 5-2.
And the Brit failed to win another point as Jarry booked his spot in the third round after three hours and 33 minutes on the court. Draper immediately slammed his racket down into the court in response before walking to the net for the handshake.
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It's a match that Draper will want to forget as he led by a break in all three sets. The world No. 42 served for the opener at 5-3 before Jarry broke back and forced a tiebreak.
The Brit was able to maintain his lead in the second set but the decider followed a similar pattern to the first. Draper broke to lead 2-1 and had the match on his racket. But he made two costly mistakes on his two match points to allow Jarry back into the match.
As the match extended well into its fourth hour, Draper had difficulty maintaining his level in the tough conditions. It's not the first time that the 22-year-old has struggled in the heat, he famously threw up in a bin on court after a brutal five-set win at the Australian Open earlier this year.
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Draper then retired ill during his semi-final against Alex De Minaur at last month's Acapulco Open. The pair split sets but the British No. 2 started to feel unwell towards the end of the second and was seen by the physio and the doctor.
He forfeited the match with the Australian leading 6-3 2-6 4-0. Taking to social media after his retirement, Draper wrote: "I hate to pull out but I was feeling really unwell today. Congrats to @alexdeminaur and good luck for the final!"