Jack Draper put his frustration to one side and kept it classy after losing at the hands of Andrey Rublev in the final of the Qatar Open.
The young Brit was seeking his first-ever victory over his Russian rival but was unable to deliver the goods, slipping to a 7-5 5-7 6-1 defeat.
The first two sets were closely contested, each going to a tiebreak with Rublev drawing first blood and Draper hitting back at the second time of asking.
He began to tire in the decisive third set, though, which allowed Rublev to gain the upper hand and power his way to victory.
Draper was visibly disappointed at the trophy presentation, but he was quick to show maturity by congratulating Rublev and admitting that he was simply not strong enough when it mattered.
« It’s been an amazing week, » said Draper. « I want to say congratulations to Andrey, he was too good today and he outlasted me. In the third set he was a bit too strong. Congratulations to you.
« I hope you have a great rest of the season, you deserve it. All the best. Also just congratulations to his team, I know the hard work that gets put in at any ATP 500 event, it’s so difficult. »
Draper is set to reach a career-high ATP ranking of 12th despite losing to Rublev, having missed the opportunity to climb an additional place to 11th by winning the final.
« So much hard work gets put into this sport when you are playing, » he added. « Thank you to everyone who has been here this week, and also back home. There are too many people to name.
« It’s a lot of hard yards, day in and day out. It’s a lot of effort and it’s testament to my hard work, I suppose. »
Rublev, meanwhile, returned the favour with some kind words for Draper and his team before collecting the winner’s trophy.
« There were a lot of great battles and it feels great I was able to get through and somehow to win them, » he said. « Also I want to say bad luck and an amazing week for Jack and his team.
« I really like Jack as a person and I really like his game and I think he has a really, really great career in the future. He will win many great things. Just keep working man and you deserve everything.
« I’m really happy I’m able still to beat him today one more time, because I don’t know how many chances I still have left! I’ve been through some things that weren’t easy but I’m happy that somehow I was able to manage it and to perform really well this week. »
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