Jack Draper BOOED by Australian Open crowd as Brit tennis star walks out for second-round clash to chorus of jeers
JACK DRAPER was BOOED as he walked out for his second-round clash at the Australian Open.
The Brit is taking on Aussie ace Thanasi Kokkinakis at the John Cain Arena.
Draper, 23, was not given a warm welcome by the home crowd as he entered the court.
The British No.1 was met with a chorus of jeers as he made his way to his seat.
Kokkinakis, 28, however, was given a heroes reception by the crowd, who were clearly supporting him for the Australian Open.
Eurosport commentator Mikey Perera believed that Draper would not have minded the frosty reception.
He said: “Here we go then, a few boos for Jack Draper.
“I don’t think he’ll mind that.
“He’s the sort of character that will say: ‘Okay then, bring it on’.”
Before the clash, Draper admitted that he was expecting to be met with a hostile crowd.
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However, he insisted that he would use it as extra motivation.
He said: “That’s definitely going to bring the best out of me.
“I think it’s going to be a really good atmosphere, whether the crowd’s with me or against me.
“I remember what it was like playing Futures with no one watching. That’s what I play for, to play in front of a lot of people and entertain.
“I know Thanasi is going to give it his all here in Melbourne.
“He always brings out great tennis so it’s going to be a really tough match.
“We always have a battle so I’m fully prepared and ready for that.
“I’m going to have to improve my performance and I think that’s a great chance to do it.”
Draper went into the clash as the favourite having won his previous three matches against Kokkinakis.
The Aussie insisted that he was expecting a hard match.
He said: “He’s obviously a great player who had a very good year last year
“We’ve had three matches and he’s won two. I’ve won one, all extremely tight matches.
“The first one I lost in the Davis Cup, serving for the match, the next one I got him and the last one was 7-5 in the third.
“It’s going to be a battle, for sure. Hopefully the body pulls up all right and I can give it my best.”
Tennis stars’ new careers
PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring.
But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best…
- I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun
- I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B
- I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer
- I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend
- I’m last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I’m singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts
- I’m former world No1 but quit aged 29 – instead I went on to play professional poker and golf
- I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist