‘Servebot’ fires down 25 aces to beat British ace
Katie Boulter into third round after Tauson win
Jack Draper suffered a tough defeat in his opening match at the Miami Open as he could do little to neutralise a dominant serving performance from Reilly Opelka, who fired down 25 aces in two sets en route to a 7-6(3), 7-6(0) win.
The defeat is a difficult setback for Draper, the 25th seed, as he continues to navigate the early stages of his return to competition from a bone bruise injury that forced him off the tour for seven months. Miami is just the third ATP tournament of his comeback.
While some big servers view the phrase as a pejorative, undermining the other qualities in his game, the 6ft11in Opelka proudly describes himself as a servebot. This performance was a demonstration of his destructive serving and his ability to completely take his racket out of the hands of his opponents. Draper did not face a break point in the entire match but he simply could not handle Opelka’s serve.
