Adelaide International: Jiri Lehecka, Jack Draper to meet in title decider

Jack Draper advanced to his second consecutive final after defeating Alexander Bublik 7-6(2), 6-4 at the Adelaide International Friday.

The 22-year-old British player won 76% of the points on the Kazakh second serve, which served as the foundation for his upset of eighth seed Alexander Bublik.

“Very proud of myself today,” Draper said. “It was a tough match against a guy who is very unpredictable. I’m very happy to get through.

“I made my first final at the backend of last year and I’m back into a final of my next 250 so I’m really hoping I can get over the line tomorrow.”

Draper reached his first-ever ATP Tour final in Sofia to round up the previous season.

Earlier, after qualifying for the final, Jiri Lehecka carried on cultivating his nascent romance with Australia.

After finishing runner-up in Winston-Salem last year, the 22-year-old Czech defeated Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-1 in 71 minutes to go to his second ATP Tour final match against Jack Draper on Saturday.

“I love this country. It’s so nice to start the year here,” Lehecka said. “I’m enjoying every minute of my first time in Adelaide and you can see that on the court.”

Lehecka’s Grand Slam breakthrough came at the Australian Open just a year ago, when he advanced to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.

During his initial trip to Adelaide, he defeated third-seeded Korda in the semifinals and second-seeded Nicolas Jarry in the third round.