Erste Bank Open

Clear victory! The first Vienna finalist has been decided

Jack Draper is in the final in Vienna.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The new face of victory at the 2.626 million euro Erste Bank Open in Vienna belongs to either Jack Draper or Karen Khachanov. The Briton, seeded No. 7, defeated the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No. 6) 6:2 and 6:4 after 1:48 hours on Saturday. 

The unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov then eliminated the tournament's number two, Australian Alex de Minaur, with the same result. The final will be played on Sunday (2 p.m.). 

Karen Khachanov

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Draper is the fourth Briton to reach the Stadthalle final after Greg Rusedski (1996), Tim Henman (1999) and Andy Murray (2014, 2016). "I'm very happy to be in my first 500 final. It's nice that all the work I've put in has been rewarded," said a delighted Draper. However, he had some difficulties with his physical condition in the finish.

"I knew this week was going to be a challenge because I was quite ill. I had injured myself slightly in Asia and then I had tonsillitis," said Draper. He is someone who sweats a lot on the court and sometimes finds it difficult to take in enough fluids. Nevertheless, Draper was already 3-0 up in the head-to-head with Musetti.

The 22-year-old Draper is making his first appearance in a final at ATP 500 level, his fourth overall. The US Open semi-finalist won his first ATP tournament in Stuttgart this year.

461,920 euros at stake
Khachanov then continued his current winning streak. The newly crowned Almaty winner took the momentum from Kazakhstan well and, like Draper, only dropped one set on his way to the final for the cheque of 461,920 euros. "I feel great. There's nothing to complain about, right?" said Khachanov in the mixed zone of the Stadthalle. "This is what you work for. Once it goes like this, you want to keep going like this. But I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself, I just want to enjoy the way I'm playing at the moment," said the Russian after his eighth win in a row.

Khachanov leads in the head-to-head
Khachanov has a 2:1 record against Draper, but things have only really picked up for the Brit this year. "I know him quite well. He's in the final and is having his best season so far." Khachanov was cautious in response to Draper's statement that he was quite exhausted due to the after-effects of his illness. "That's good to know, but he's got time to get over it. In the final you always have an extra push and more adrenaline - he'll be ready."

With Khachanov, a Russian will once again be in the final, just like Daniil Medvedev last year. Ahead of the anniversary final of the 50th edition of the Stadthalle tournament, it is also clear that none of the contenders for a place at the ATP Finals in Vienna have been able to score big points in the battle for the top eight. Casper Ruud (NOR) and Andrej Rublev (RUS) will remain in seventh and eighth place despite earlier defeats in Basel. De Minaur could have moved up to seventh place if he had won the tournament.