Sofia Open 2023 results: Jack Draper loses to Adrian Mannarino in final
Written by I Dig SportsBritain's Jack Draper missed out on a first ATP Tour title when he lost in three sets to French second seed Adrian Mannarino in the Sofia Open final.
It brought to an end a nine-match winning streak for the 21-year-old Briton, who was beaten 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 6-3 in the Bulgarian capital.
Draper had been seeking to add to the title he won last week at a second-tier Challenger event in Bergamo, Italy.
But the experienced Mannarino, 35, held firm to win his fifth tour title.
Draper is the youngest British man to reach a tour final since Andy Murray, at the same age, in Miami in 2009.
Murray won that final but Draper could not emulate him despite a stirring comeback in the second set.
World number 25 Mannarino, enjoying the most successful season of his career, regained control in the third set to add to the titles he won in Astana and Newport this year.
Draper has himself had a promising season, which has included reaching the last 16 of the US Open in September.
He had been building momentum in recent weeks after a shoulder injury interrupted his year and will get another chance to demonstrate his exciting potential at the Davis Cup Finals later this month, when he has been named in the Great Britain squad for the quarter-final against Serbia.
That tie in Spain on 23 November is being shown live on BBC Sport.