World No. 5 Jack Draper commented on the potential of Brazilian tennis player Joao Fonseca following their third-round match at Roland Garros, where Draper won 6/2, 6/4, 6/2.
“It`s amazing that he`s only 18. I`m 23, and when I think about everything I`ve learned and improved in just a year… He`s already nearly in the Top 50 and doing incredible things. Matches like the one we played will greatly aid his development. I think he just needs time, but looking at how he plays now, it`s a bit scary what he might achieve.”
“Obviously, he still has room to grow physically. Competing with Top 100 players and beating them in best-of-three sets is very difficult, especially when you have very little experience at that level. He needs to go through this stage of development. The key to my convincing wins in our two matches was that I withstood his pressure, and he felt he needed to do more. And that`s when you see he`s still young and not physically fully ready for such efforts. Everything he does from now on will be about improving.”
Draper also commented on his own performance in the third round of the Parisian Major.
“I am very pleased with my level of play and consistency. Closing out the second set the way I did was important; beating such a promising player is very good for me. I realized I had some physical issues maintaining intensity in long rallies and moving forward, so I used drop shots whenever I could step into the court after deep, powerful strokes. I never practice drop shots in training, but it`s a natural shot that I find very useful in various situations, such as approaching the net after a serve. I feel very comfortable on clay and have gained a lot of confidence,” Draper said at the Roland Garros press conference.
In the fourth round of the tournament, Jack will play against Kazakhstani tennis player Alexander Bublik. The match is scheduled for June 2nd.
