Jack Draper secured a spot in the fourth round at Roland Garros, defeating Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. This victory marks Draper’s first advancement to this stage in Paris.
The match was highly anticipated as it featured Draper against the promising #NextGenATP player Fonseca. Despite not dropping a set before this encounter, Fonseca struggled with consistency against Draper’s powerful game on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Draper dominated with his topspin forehand and served effectively, winning 93% of his first-serve points and committing fewer unforced errors than Fonseca. “I played good. The conditions were quite difficult out here,” Draper commented post-match. He highlighted the importance of winning the first set and expressed satisfaction with his performance.
Draper entered Roland Garros without prior wins at the clay-court major but has shown significant improvement this year. He claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and reached the finals in Madrid. With a season record of 25-6, Draper is set to face Alexander Bublik next.
Fonseca’s journey to the third round included victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Earlier this year, he defeated Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and won his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires. Despite losing to Draper, Fonseca’s performance in Paris moved him up to No. 55 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Draper praised Fonseca: “Joao is someone who has come onto the Tour and caught the attention of everyone… He hasn’t played as many Grand Slams as myself but I think he has an incredibly bright future at the top of the game.”