Jack Draper overturns Karen Khachanov to reach Adelaide semis, Cameron Norrie wins in Auckland ahead of Australian Open
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Published 12/01/2023 at 09:01 GMT
It was a good day for the Brits as Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, and Andy Murray all won their respective warm-up events, with everyone preparing for the Australian Open. Norrie and Draper will play for a spot in the finals, while Murray claimed victory in his exhibition event. Stream the 2023 Australian Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk
Nadal excited about defending Australian Open title
Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie have booked their spots in the semi-finals of their final Australian Open warm-up tournaments.
Norrie defeated Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2 at the Auckland Open, while Draper defeated third seed Karen Khachanov at the Adelaide International 2 event 6-4 7-6(3).
Norrie breezed by Giron in the first set but was unable to keep up his momentum in the second, allowing the American to level up the contest.
In the end, however, the British No. 1 managed to secure the win with a double-break in the third set.
"It's so good to be back; it's a second home for me; it's great to be playing on this court," he said, the victory giving him a 5-0 record for the year.
"I made it difficult for myself in that second set. It's kind of annoying not to get it done in straight sets, but credit to Marcos. He's a great player."
Norrie, the only seed left in the tournament, will face Jenson Brooksby for a spot in the final.
Meanwhile, Draper held strong in a tie-break against the 2022 US Open semi-finalist to get himself into the last-four.
"Against guys like Karen, you can't give them an inch, or they run away with it," Draper said.
"Last game, I got a bit nervous, but that's all part of the game. I'm still young; I'm still learning. It was a good match. I did well to impose my game on him."
Draper, who faces Kwon Soon-woo in the semi-finals in Adelaide, will need all the playing time he can get as the 21-year-old has been drawn to play defending champion Rafael Nadal on his Australian Open debut.
Andy Murray was also in action, as he beat Australian world No. 24 Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-3 at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event.
Murray said that he is healthy and has "no time frame" on retirement after his first win of the season against China's Zhang Zhizhen earlier in the week
The three-time Grand Slam champion is in the main draw of the Australian Open. He is a five-time finalist in the tournament.
The Australian Open main draw will get underway at Melbourne Park on January 16 with the men's final bringing the tournament to a close on January 29.
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Stream the 2023 Australian Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk
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