Jack Draper wins ITF Sunderland title on mixed day for Brits in singles finals

The singles finals day of ITF Sunderland provided mixed results for the Brits with 18-year-old Jack Draper taking the men’s singles title while 17-year-old Emma Raducanu fell short in the women’s final.
2018 Wimbledon boys’ singles finalist Draper beat former world no. 52 Igor Sijsling in straight sets to follow up his final in Glasgow last week with the title at Silksworth Tennis Centre.

Draper looked in the mood from the start and he got a break early in the opening set to lead 2-1.
However, Sijsling rallied to find an immediate break back and level the set 2-2.
But it didn’t prove to be a way back into the set for the Dutchman and Draper went on a run of four consecutive games to win the set 6-2.
The Brit then ran away with the second set, extending his run of consecutive games to ten and taking the match 6-2 6-0.
The day started with the final of the women’s singles where Raducanu fell to the top seed Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in three sets despite the Brit having taken a lead in every set.
Raducanu eventually took the first set 6-4 after losing her break advantage twice before getting another on match point.
Tomova took the second set 6-4 to level at one each and send the match into a deciding set.
Raducanu started the final set excellently and lead 3-0 with a break.
But Tomova recovered to win six consecutive games and the world no. 151 took the title with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory.

Tournament director Richard Joyner said: “As part of the long-term performance strategy for the LTA, one of those elements is providing more opportunities on home soil.
“So we have had a slight increase in the number of events this year.
“The men’s singles final is a classic example where you’ve got Jack Draper who’s only just 18 at the early stages of his career playing against 32-year-old Igor Sijsling who’s been 51 in the world, played all the grand slams.”
on staging the tournament in Sunderland, Joyner added: “It’s important that these events are staged around the country.
“This year for Sunderland we’ve got two events. The one we’ve just finished today and then another in the third week of September.
“It brings some top-class professional tennis around the country rather than it always being in one area.”