Draper storms into Qatar Open quarter-finals

Christopher O’Connell and Jack Draper were the only players who could not defeat the British no 1 in the Qatar Open quarter-finals.

Draper needed only 59 minutes to complete his 6-2, 6-1 victory over the Australian, without going through a single break point.

The world number 16 is returning from his first tournament since the Australian Open’s fourth-round match with Carlos Alcaraz in January.

Before serving the opener, O’Connell won just one game in the second, while he broke serve in the first and second games, both of which came at 4-2.

Draper will face Tallon Griekspoor or Matteo Berrettini, who knocked out Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Tuesday, in the last eight.

The 23-year-old remains on course for a semi-final encounter with Alcaraz, who plays Italy’s Luca Nardi in the last 16 later on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Doha, Alex de Minaur claimed his 200th tour-level hard-court win with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to set up a quarter-final against fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Nuno Borges 6-3 6-4.