Unknown Sydney player Aleksandar Vukic has set his sights on a Davis Cup call-up after a strong performance at the Australian Open.
Alex de Minaur is the last local player left in singles after Vukic had his chances to get his first place in the fourth round of a Grand Slam, but could not eliminate the British Draper, seeded number 15, losing 6- 4, 2-6, 5-7, 7. -6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8).
Both coming off five-set wins in their first two rounds, Vukic and Draper traded blows for three hours and 58 minutes in a nail-biting fight Friday night at Margaret Court Arena.
A tiebreaker was necessary to separate the pair, with Draper, 23, clinching the decider with an unrecoverable serve at 00:55 local time.
“I thought it was over and I had just come back from the dead,” said Draper, who had led world No. 68 Vukic 3-1 in the deciding set.
“He was playing amazing.”
Admittedly “fucked up,” Vukic, 28, described the outcome as bittersweet and nothing to be ashamed of.
Late finisher Aleksandar Vukic pushed Britain’s Jack Draper to five sets in an instant Australian Open classic.

Now that Vukic’s Australian Open campaign is over, he hopes to be selected in the Davis Cup team to face Sweden.

The injuries of the Special K’s, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, could open the door for Vukic to reach the Davis Cup team
“I left it all out there,” he told reporters.
‘Jack is an incredible competitor who I respect a lot. Unfortunately one of us had to win.
“It’s one of those that I’ll have a lot of confidence in moving forward for the rest of the year.”
Vukic, who finished last season with wins over top-20 players Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe, indicated he would put his hand up for Davis Cup duty.
But he confirmed he has not received any communication from Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt following the injuries to Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, who were nominated for Australia’s qualifying tie against Sweden in Stockholm at the end of the month.
“Representing Australia would be a great privilege,” Vukic said.
‘I want to achieve everything I can.
“Whether it’s going far in a Slam, representing the Davis Cup or going far in the Masters, I want to push myself in everything I can.”

Vukic wants to take his recent form to another level and go deeper in the upcoming tournaments

Vukic’s loss leaves Alex de Minaur as the only Australian who will advance to the second week of the Australian grand slam
It was the first time Vukic found himself in the pressure-cooker environment of a Slam third round, having spent more than six hours on court after five sets against 22nd seed Sebastian Korda and Bosnian Damir Dzumhur.
He would have joined Hewitt, De Minaur, Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic as the only Australian men to reach the fourth round of the Open in the last two decades with a win, but fell agonizingly short.
Draper is quickly becoming a Grand Slam spoiler for the Australians, knocking out De Minaur from last year’s US Open quarter-finals and defeating Kokkinakis in a five-set marathon in the final round.
His prize is a date with world number 3 and four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, whom he beat on the Queen’s Club lawn last year, for a place in the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
“My body doesn’t feel very good, luckily I have a good physiotherapist,” said the 2024 US Open semi-finalist.
‘I’m just thinking about my recovery and getting off the field. I don’t want to think about it (playing against Alcaraz) yet.
“Carlos is a special talent, an incredible player and someone I have a good friendship with, so I think it will be an incredible match… I will give it my all.”