Draper Downs Musetti In Sofia

Jack Draper continued his impressive recent form on Wednesday at the Sofia Open, where he defeated top seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-2 to reach his seventh tour-level quarter-final.

The Briton won his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title in Italy last week and has quickly found his level in Sofia, also beating Maximilian Marterer at the ATP 250 event. In a high-quality performance against Musetti, Draper won 89 per cent (31/35) of his first-serve points to advance one hour and 48 minutes.

“Lorenzo is an amazing player, one of the top young players in the world, so I knew it would be a real challenger,” Draper said. “I started off a little slow but after that I found momentum and am proud of the way I played. I am feeling really confident, I am playing great tennis.”

The 21-year-old, who reached the fourth round at the US Open in September, is chasing his maiden tour-level title. He will next play Cem Ilkel after the World No. 259 beat Max Purcell 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

In other action, second seed Adrian Mannarino earned his 200th tour-level hard-court win and earned 40 victories for the first time in a season. The Frenchman defeated Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals after one hour and 44 minutes. The World No. 25 is the first Frenchman to earn 40 wins on more in a season since Gael Monfils (44) in 2016.

Mannarino will next play Sebastian Ofner after the Austrian defeated Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2.

Fabian Marozsan, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Rome in May, overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) to reach his second tour-level quarter-final. The Hungarian also advanced to the last eight in Shanghai in October.

Marozsan will next face third seed Jan-Lennard Struff after the German defeated British qualifier Billy Harris 7-6(5), 6-4. Struff is seeking his first tour-level title this week, having held championship point in Stuttgart in June.