Fresh off the career-defining high of his maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells – a triumph that propelled the British sensation Jack Draper into the Top 10, soaring from No. 14 to No. 7 – the subsequent hard-court swing brought a swift reality check. An early exit in Miami at the hands of Jakub Mensik left the London native admittedly “cautious” as he transitioned to the unfamiliar European clay. “I think it’s not the most natural surface for someone from the UK,” he confessed, though he vowed to embrace the challenge. He cleared his first hurdle against America’s Marcos Giron, but his second match revealed moments where the newly minted Top 10 player seemed to lose his composure. What exactly unfolded on the clay?
Jack Draper’s opening set against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina revealed a player visibly struggling. A particularly telling moment came in the eighth game when, after being broken to love, a clearly out-of-sorts Draper roared “wake-up” at himself, eliciting jeers from the Court Rainier III crowd.
This outburst preceded a 3-6 loss in the set, prompting Sky Sports commentator Naomi Cavaday to observe, “Jack Draper is seething.” She added, “He is furious the second time he’s been broken in the match, but this time it could be more costly.”
Although with that loud scream, Draper managed to ignite the fire inside him and came back strongly in the second set. As things stand, Fokina is still giving a tough fight to the Brit in their first encounter.
Jack Draper shouts : WAKE UP to himself as he gets broken to 0 by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Fokina serving for the first set at 5-3.pic.twitter.com/tzromah9fW
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) April 10, 2025
There was another moment in the match where the play was halted in the second set due to an emergency situation.
Draper was then up by 3-1 in that set when his service game was put on hold due to a disturbance in the crowd. A few seconds later, the chair umpire was heard announcing, “Looks like someone has fainted. Please stop play.”
The match was paused for several minutes as the medical personnel rushed to the stands to treat the fan who felt ill. Draper showed little emotion as he watched the whole scenario, however, he did appear to get a bit of benefit from that short break.
When play resumed, he survived deuce to hold on his serve and then broke Fokina to level matters in the second set. As of this writing, the third set is on.
So far, the British number one has been really impressive this season, and he’s currently ranked 6th in the world, the highest rank for any male Brit since Andy Murray.
After securing a dominating victory (6-1,6-1) against Giron in the opener, Draper said, “I feel like I’ve been transitioning well to the clay, been working really hard to look for my forehand and do all of the right things to be effective on this surface. I’ve struggled a little bit in the last couple of years, but I’m really hoping this year with my new tennis that I can have a good run.” Can he win big titles this year? What do the experts think about his chances on the clay courts this season, though?
Former ATP pro looks quite optimistic about Jack Draper’s chances at the 2025 French Open
If we take a look at his record, Jack Draper has won a title on grass and two on the hard courts, but the clay court remains the only surface on which he has yet to open his account. In 2024, he played seven clay court tournaments, but won only five matches. Draper has made two main draw appearances at Roland Garros in his career so far, losing in the first round on both occasions.
Previously, while sharing his thoughts about tennis goals, the Brit said, “I want to be a great player and I want to achieve amazing things in this sport, but my main goal is to keep on improving and keep on knuckling down. I know there is a long way ahead of me. I’m very ambitious. I don’t want to just stop here. I want to keep on going.”
Can he create yet another big moment in his career by making a good run at the French Open this year? Well, the former tennis player Liam Broady looked quite impressed with Draper’s performance in the previous match against Giron. After that match, he also came up with a tweet saying, “The set of tennis I have just seen Jack Draper play. Wow.” Not only that, he also predicted, “I’m excited for him at RG [Roland Garros]. I think he could have a really good run.”
Do you agree with Broady’s take on Jack Draper’s chances at the 2025 French Open? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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