French Open: Draper brushes off Fonseca to reach fourth round

Paris, May 31 (IANS) Jack Draper of Great Britain continued his superb season at the French Open on Saturday as he dispatched the young Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the first time in Paris.

The spotlight was on Draper in his second ATP head-to-head meeting with the 18-year-old Fonseca, who had not dropped a set en route to reaching the third round at a major for the first time.

However, the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals winner Fonseca struggled for consistency. He was unable to live with Draper’s power and physicality in the hot and lively conditions on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The British lefty hit his heavy topspin forehand with depth and was relaxed for large periods, striking with liquid power to dominate the brutal baseline exchanges.

The 23-year-old won 93 percent of his first-serve points and committed 20 unforced errors to Fonseca’s 38, according to Infosys Stats, to advance after one hour and 49 minutes.

"I played good. The conditions were quite difficult out here. I felt that the first set was really key," Draper was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour on its website. "Then I kind of got on top of him, used my forehand well, served well, and mentally it was a good performance from me, and I am happy to be in the second week here."

Draper had reached Roland Garros without a win in two previous appearances at the clay-court major.

Ranked No. 5 in the ATP Rankings, the lefty, however, managed to capture his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells in March – defeating Fonseca en route – and then reached the championship match on clay in Madrid.

Holding a 25-6 record in the season, Draper will continue the quest for his first major against Alexander Bublik, who beat Portuguese qualifier Henrique Rocha 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.

"In my first two rounds, I played in the night time and playing against Gael [Monfils] the other night, I didn't feel I could hit the ball past him," Draper said on the conditions at this year's Roland Garros. "The guy is so quick, and it was so cold. But today the ball was getting up more, and the faster conditions helped me more."

Fonseca defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to advance to the third round in Paris. Earlier this season, the 18-year-old upset Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and captured his maiden ATP Tour title at the 250 event in Buenos Aires.

The Brazilian was backed by vocal support throughout his three matches in the French capital but was unable to give them anything to cheer about against Draper, overhitting all too often. The 18-year-old leaves Roland Garros up 10 places at No. 55 in the ATP Live Rankings.

"João is someone who has come onto the Tour and caught the attention of everyone, the players, the fans. He is an incredible young player and so much to come from him," Draper said oofFonseca. "I think today, maybe a bit of experience [was the difference]. He hasn't played as many Grand Slams as me but I think he has an incredibly bright future at the top of the game," he said.

--IANS

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