Korda conquers O'Connell, Draper upsets Paul in Adelaide QFs

One year after missing out on a match point against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Adelaide International final, Sebastian Korda is one win away from earning another chance to play for the ATP 250 title.

The third-seeded American advanced to the semi-finals on Thursday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Aussie home favourite Christopher O'Connell. Korda scored the victory behind a single break in each set, but had to battle through a marathon final service game to wrap up the win.

O'Connell created two break chances with a late surge, but Korda closed out the match after 90 minutes of play on his fifth match point.

"I'm thrilled. I didn't play bad on any of those match points," Korda said post-match. "He just really raised his level and played really well. I'm just happy to get through that one."

Back-to-back Adelaide semi-finals 🔥

Sebastian Korda defeats Aussie Christoper O'Connell 6-4, 6-4 to make the final four in Adelaide for the second consecutive year.@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/klxBYi46gb

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 11, 2024

Now 9-1 in his past 10 tour-level quarter-finals, Korda will play seventh seed Jiri Lehecka, a 6-4, 7-5 winner against second seed Nicolas Jarry, in the semis. The American snapped a four-match losing streak by beating Lorenzo Sonego in his Adelaide opener, and has now moved up four places this week to No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He could match his career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 23 by reaching the semis.

"I wish we had more weeks here in Adelaide," said Korda, who is now 6-1 at the event. "It's a lot of fun playing here. I've played some really good tennis here."

Another player who appears to enjoy competing in Adelaide is Jack Draper. The Briton improved his record at the ATP 250 to 7-2 with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 quarter-final upset of top seed Tommy Paul.

“I’m really impressed with the way I came out today,” said Draper, who spent three hours, 40 minutes on court against Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday afternoon. “I knew it was going to be difficult. I played a really long match yesterday, so I’m really proud of the work I’m doing, showing my physicality on court. Each time I play, I’m proving myself to be a better player than I though I was.”

Some huge hitting with his lefty forehand helped Draper rack up 24 winners against Paul, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 22-year-old now holds a 2-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against the World No. 14, whom he also defeated en route to the semi-finals in Adelaide in 2023.

Next up for Draper in South Australia is a semi-final clash with Alexander Bublik. The eighth seed downed fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 with a typically entertaining performance. The highlight of Bublik’s win was a point in the second set, when he followed an underarm serve with a remarkable tweener finish from the baseline.