British tennis star Jack Draper endured a raucous night at the Australian Open, revealing how he dealt with crowd "abuse" by drawing on the calm demeanor of former Australia football coach Ange Postecoglou. After defeating home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis in a late-night five-set thriller on John Cain Arena, the 15th seed said he welcomed the Melbourne crowd turning up the volume against him in his third-round match, which will be another "tennis Ashes" clash against Sydney-born Aleksandar Vukic.
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02-07, 2025Draper admitted after his victory that it was a "tough atmosphere to deal with" as he battled to suppress Kokkinakis's challenge, eventually winning 6-7(3-7), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 after four and a half hours. “But I enjoyed it a little bit as well,” he added, admitting he put his hands to his ears after breaking serve at 5-4 in the final set in response to the crowd’s noise when Kokkinakis was leading.
“The atmosphere was very lively. Obviously, between serves, I was getting a lot of abuse from the back of the court and other places,” he said. When asked specifically what the crowd had said, Draper added: “They were saying some interesting things, for sure. I don’t want to say. When you’re about to serve and there’s whistles and people talking, it’s really tough.”
However, Manchester United fan Draper considered it all “entertainment,” recalling watching the FA Cup match between Tamworth and Tottenham Hotspur on television a few days earlier when Australian visiting manager Postecoglou was being subjected to a barrage of abuse from the home fans on the touchline. “Everyone was getting at Ange that night, and he was just standing there taking it. It was great, it was entertainment,” Draper shrugged. “Sometimes you don’t want to rile them up or fire back. But it gave me energy. It was nice to give it back with the ears. I’ve got thick skin, it was fun.”
However, Postecoglou revealed on Tuesday that some of it was not fun. He was unhappy with some of the comments directed at him at Tamworth, saying: “Some of the stuff I heard was pretty vile and disgusting, and getting things thrown at you, it wasn’t a great experience, but we’re expected to be the bigger person.” “I would have loved to turn around and not be the bigger person, but in that moment, you’ve just got to take it and move on.”
Draper’s next opponent is Vukic, who recorded the best win of his career by beating 22nd seed American Sebastian Korda. The Briton is already primed for more provocation. Asked if he plays better the more the Australians are against him, Draper smiled and said: “Yeah, exactly.” He is building a reputation as a grand slam “Aussie killer” after also defeating Alex de Minaur at the US Open.
