Novak Djokovic falls to defending champ Jack Draper in 3 sets at BNP Paribas Open

Defending champion Jack Draper rallied from a set down and beat five-time champ Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) Wednesday night in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open
FILE -Britain's Jack Draper plays a shot against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic during a Davis Cup quarter-final tennis match between Serbia and United Kingdom in Malaga, Spain, Nov. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

FILE -Britain's Jack Draper plays a shot against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic during a Davis Cup quarter-final tennis match between Serbia and United Kingdom in Malaga, Spain, Nov. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Defending champion Jack Draper rallied from a set down and beat five-time champ Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) Wednesday night in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.

The 24-year-old Draper, who is coming back after missing eight months due to an arm injury, advanced to the quarterfinal round and will face Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 16 to move on.

Djokovic, seeded third, led 6-5 in the third set before Draper rallied and forced a tiebreaker.

“I still don’t feel like I’m playing anywhere near the way I want to play," Draper said. "I came out here and I won that match through determination.”

In addition to his win at Indian Wells last year, the 14th-seeded Draper won the Stuttgart Open and the Vienna Open, both in 2024.

The 38-year-old Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, won at Indian Wells in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016. Djokovic nearly won an 11th Australian Open title earlier this year, but lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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