Jack Draper and Katie Boulter dumped out of Australian Open
Jack Draper and Katie Boulter were dumped out of the Australian Open this morning in a blow to British interests in Melbourne.
British No1 Boulter lost 6-3 6-3 to 12th seed Zheng Qinwen of China.
Draper, 22, lost 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 against American 14th seed Tommy Paul.
“He beat me pretty bad last week and I knew I had to come out and change some things,” the American said. “I knew I needed to keep him on court as long as I could. He had a long first round, so I have to thank Marcos Giron.
“I played a bit more aggressive. He’s unbelievable when he’s dictating, so trying to keep him on the defence was the main goal.”
It’s a setback for the British contingent of players at the Australian Open.
Cameron Norrie took five sets to topple Giulio Zeppieri. The British No1 was two sets down but came back to win 3-6 6-7 6-2 6-4 6-4. He will face Casper Ruud in the next round.
Ruud said of Norrie: “He’s a tough competitor, for sure. He’s rising his level the past three, four years. He has a cool story. Came from college, took it to the next step from there. He’s a great player.
“I need to be on top of my game if I want to hang in there with him. I have played him a few times before, been able to beat him before. I know what has given me the win. He will try to seek revenge and find a way to beat me.”
The Australian Open is the first of the year’s four Grand Slams and is followed by the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.