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Madrid Open: Draper dispatches Arnaldi in 77 minutes to enter Semifinals

Home Tennis Madrid Open: Draper dispatches Arnaldi in 77 minutes to enter Semifinals
Madrid Open: Draper dispatches Arnaldi in 77 minutes to enter Semifinals
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Jack Draper is set to break into the Top 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in his career on Monday following his latest win at the Mutua Madrid Open.

The 23-year-old dispatched Matteo Arnaldi 6-0, 6-4 on Thursday to reach his first clay-court tour-level semi-final and will now become just the fourth British player to reach the Top 5 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings (1973), joining former World No. 1 Andy Murray, World No. 4 Tim Henman and World No. 4 Greg Rusedski.

Draper arrived in Madrid at No. 6, having cracked the Top 10 for the first time after winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells in March. Draper has looked close to his best throughout his run in Spain, where he has eliminated Tallon Griekspoor, Matteo Berrettini, Tommy Paul and Arnaldi. He started the season at No. 15 and last year in Madrid was No. 43.

After becoming just the second lefty this century alongside Rafael Nadal to crack the Top 5, Draper would move to within just 25 points of No. 4 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings Taylor Fritz if he wins his fourth tour-level trophy in Madrid.

Draper, who did not face a break point according to Infosys ATP Stats in his 77-minute victory against Arnaldi, is now 18-4 on the season and up to third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, surpassing Jannik Sinner, who is in action next week in Rome.

Draper will continue his Madrid title quest in the semi-finals against Lorenzo Musetti or Gabriel Diallo. Musetti will also break new ground on Monday when he becomes the sixth Italian player since 1973 to crack the Top 10.

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