MELBOURNE - British world number 55 Jack Draper had no time to enjoy sealing what he described as one of the most satisfactory wins of his career at the Australian Open on Tuesday as he was forced to race to a courtside bin to throw up.
The 22-year-old took three hours and 20 minutes in the hot Melbourne sun to see off Marcos Giron 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-0 6-2 but was not even able to offer his American opponent the customary handshake over the net.
"It was weird," he told reporters. "I obviously played such a long point, maybe it was sort of a reaction to finally getting over the line. I don't know.
"I kind of felt bad because I obviously just beat the guy, and I was saying, 'I need to shake your hand, mate, but I need to get to that bin'.
"I don't really do that often, but it was a reaction."
Draper, who reached the final of the Adelaide warm-up last week but fell short of landing his first ATP title, thought it was the tension of the occasion rather than the sweltering conditions that caused him to vomit.
"It was obviously a physical match. It's tough conditions (but) it wasn't that long for a five-set match," he added.
"I played three hours, 40 last week in hotter conditions, and I was physically absolutely fine. I think it's obviously a Grand Slam.
"I think it was more kind of psychological stress today that was causing my sort of fatigue rather than the physical nature because I felt better in the fifth set than I did the first."
Draper will face 14th seed Tommy Paul, a Melbourne Park semi-finalist last year, in the second round later this week, his first match at that stage of the Australian Open.
He said he would take confidence from the fact that he beat Paul in the quarter-finals in Adelaide last week but felt the American might be a tougher proposition on one of the game's biggest stages.
"The match I played against him, I was really solid. I played great tennis. But obviously five sets is different," Draper said.
"It will be a tough match, and he'll be wanting to get some revenge on me for sure." REUTERS
