Sofia Open: Jack Draper defeated in maiden ATP Tour final as Adrian Mannarino wins Bulgarian battle

Updated 11/11/2023 at 20:52 GMT

Jack Draper matched Andy Murray’s feat of becoming the youngest Brit to reach an ATP tour-level final at the age of 21 but was outdone by the far more experienced Adrian Mannarino at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria. France's Mannarino was forced into a deciding set by Draper but was much stronger in the home straight to claim his third title of the season.

Mannarino beats Draper in Sofia to claim third ATP title in 2023

Adrian Mannarino defeated Jack Draper 7-6(6) 2-6 6-3 in the Sofia Open final on Saturday, the Brit’s first ATP tour final.

Draper, 21, matched Andy Murray’s feat of becoming the joint-youngest player to reach a tour-level final, but he’ll have to wait for his first piece of silverware.

Although Draper dominated the second set to force a decider, the far more experienced now-five-time title winner Mannarino came through to triumph in Bulgaria.

ATP Monte Carlo

Djokovic eases past Safiullin to reach third round, Zverev overcomes Offner

09/04/2024 at 22:57

The Frenchman eventually came out on top in an absorbing first set, breaking the Draper serve immediately to get off to an ideal start.

The young Brit showed his mettle to break back immediately, and showcased his ability to dictate play from the baseline with an emphatic hold to love at 2-1.

From that point onwards, there was very little to separate either player as the first set went to an inevitable tie-break.

Mannarino's frustration was clear to see when he saw a forehand wide to go 5-4 down in the tie-break, but he would have the last laugh.

A rare, albeit crucial break of Draper’s serve ensured the Frenchman drew first blood after the 21-year-old hit a long forehand return.

Draper took advantage of the first of two break points to go 4-1 up as the Mannarino played a long return.

After the keenly-contested nature of the opening set, few would have predicted the ease in which Draper secured the second.

He took a mere 33 minutes to restore parity in the contest, breaking the world No.23 immediately and doing so again in the fifth game to move 4-1 ahead.

Draper was level with a superb hold to love in the eighth game and wiped out Mannarino's lead in a flash.

However, Mannarino stepped things up a gear in the third set and wouldn’t allow Draper to take an inch, hardly dropping a point on his serve.

The 25th-ranked Mannarino broke the Brit after a double fault, powering home a forehand winner for 4-2.

Draper failed to capitalise on two break points in the ninth game of the decider, as Mannarino closed out the match to win his third title of the season.

At the Moselle Open, Frenchman Ugo Humbert won the final in Metz for his first ATP title win for more than two years, as he defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-3 6-3.