Jack Draper brought crashing down to earth as British hopes end at French Open

All Jack Draper’s good work this fortnight at Roland Garros was undone in the fourth round by Alexander Bublik’s masterful mix of blistering forehand winners, dinky drop shots and second-serve aces. Never over the past 12 months has the 23-year-old Briton looked so lost on a tennis court.

It had appeared as if Draper was heading towards a mouthwatering quarter-final against Jannik Sinner but instead he is heading towards the Gare du Nord for the Eurostar back to London. After such a rapid rise to No5 in the world he will be desperately disappointed that his French Open — and British participation in the singles at Roland Garros — ended with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 defeat by the world No62 from Kazakhstan.

Bublik deserves much credit for his display. The 27-year-old has always possessed an ability to conjure some incredible shotmaking, but often undoes his efforts by losing his temper. Here he remained calm and composed throughout to produce the performance of his life and reach his first grand-slam quarter-final.

There will be crucial lessons to learn for Draper from this when the dust settles. He battled hard towards the end but ultimately struggled to counter a gameplan that took him out of his striking comfort zone at the back of the court.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Draper said. “Obviously he served incredibly well, hitting his spots well. Off the groundstrokes, whenever I dropped it a little bit short, he was using that drop shot. They were all incredibly good. It’s tough because you know that’s coming, but yet he can unload on the forehand as well. You just don’t know what to do.

Advertisement

“Usually his level would dip in and out, and there would be a lot of sporadic stuff going on, but credit to him. He was very locked in, and his level didn’t drop hardly at all. I don’t play many matches where I feel like it’s almost out of my control what’s going on, and he made that happen today.”

Twelve days of rest and reflection will now follow for Draper before his British grass-court campaign gets under way at the Queen’s Club from June 16. There are certainly positives to take from his overall European clay-court swing, which included a runner-up finish at the Madrid Open.

Draper was a set and a break up before the game unravelled dramatically for him at Roland Garros SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL

“Although I’m obviously gutted to have lost today, I’m going to be very happy to get off the clay,” Draper admitted. “That’s just a fact. I’m really, really proud of my ability to have adapted and to accept the challenge of being on the clay. In Monte-Carlo [in April] I played there, and I lost to [Alejandro Davidovich] Fokina, [so] I was thinking, ‘This is going to be a disaster’.

“Then going week to week I’ve really built, I’ve learnt a lot, and I’ve got better. I come here, win three matches and made the fourth round. I’ll be happy to get on a faster surface that I’m much more comfortable moving on. I look forward to being back home and being on the grass, for sure.”

The first set went with form. Draper looked the better player initially and claimed the first break of the match for 6-5 when Bublik hit a double fault. After serving out the set, he then took a stronger grip on the match with a break of serve for 1-0 in the second set.

Advertisement

It was at this point the match turned. Draper handed the break straight back with a poor game and suddenly Bublik looked completely comfortable with all that he was producing. His variety left Draper unsure as to what was coming next and a break for 4-2 gave Bublik the cushion to go on and level the match at one set all.

Bublik, who was reduced to tears by his remarkable victory, is the first male player from Kazakhstan to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam JAVIER GARCIA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Bublik was having particular success with the drop shot, which repeatedly brought Draper desperately chasing forward. Producing a high level of entertainment, Bublik had the crowd on his side and all the momentum with another break for 2-1 in the third set.

Draper was now showing signs of frustration and received some boos from the stands when he angrily hit the clay with his racket. A double fault meant he went down a double break at 4-1 and Bublik was now so free-flowing that he was hitting second-serve aces for fun on his way to taking the third set.

As Draper scuttled off the court for a toilet break, Bublik called the tournament doctor on to receive some paracetamol. Whatever caused this had no impact on his play, though, as he played an outstanding return game to break to love at the start of the fourth set.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Bublik understandably tightened up a little but gave it his all to stave off threats of a comeback by Draper. He saved five break points in a rollercoaster game before converting his second match point for a memorable triumph marked by 37 drop shots and 68 winners.

Advertisement

“Sometimes in life there only one chance,” Bublik said afterwards with tears in his eyes. “I had a feeling that it was mine and I couldn’t let it slip. Standing here, this is the best moment of my life. I’m standing here like I won the thing.

“I left it all out there. I have a certain skill set to play tennis, and it worked marvellously today.”

Click here to read article