Jack Draper ‘confident’ he has the tools to end the wait for a French Open win
The British number one has never won a match at Roland Garros.
Jack Draper claims he is finally ready to break his French Open duck.
The British number one enters the second grand slam of the season as the fifth seed – despite having never won a match at Roland Garros.
Draper was ranked 39 in the world when he was beaten by qualifier Jesper De Jong in the first round last year.
It proved something of a watershed moment for the Londoner, who has since been a US Open semi-finalist, an ATP Masters winner and climbed into the world’s top five.
Draper, who faces Italian Mattia Bellucci in the first round, admitted: “It’s weird, I’ve never won a match here, but I come here feeling good about my tennis.
“When I’ve played here in the past, I don’t feel like I’ve entered the court with any confidence or any belief that I could do pretty well.
“It’s like I’ve been here, but I haven’t. I’m looking forward to coming here and feeling like I am – confident.
“I think with the way I’m playing, the fact that I’ve really improved a lot recently and my ranking is going up and I feel confident, I think there’s a good chance I can do really well. I’m looking forward to that challenge.”
Draper could face another Italian, world number one Jannik Sinner, in the last eight.
Fellow Briton Sonay Kartal is up to a career-high 53rd in the WTA rankings and has designs on breaking into the top 50 by the time Wimbledon comes around.
The 23-year-old from Brighton, who will make her Roland Garros debut against Russian Erika Andreeva on Sunday, said: “That’s definitely something I want to try and achieve this week.
Get 3 months free with ExpressVPN
Servers in 105 Countries
Superior Speeds
Works on all your devices
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Get 3 months free with ExpressVPN
Servers in 105 Countries
Superior Speeds
Works on all your devices
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
“I want to go into the grass ideally inside the top 50. That would be a big goal for me. If I could do that this week I’ll gain a lot of confidence from that.”
Just 15 places separate Kartal, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter in the world rankings, with a race developing to become British number one.
“Obviously it would be a huge honour to be that,” Kartal added. “I’ve still got a lot of time. I’m only 23. It’s not my only goal that I’m pushing towards. I think I’ve got a lot more things that I want to achieve.”
Boulter, who has topped the British rankings since June 2023, said: “If my ranking is going in the right direction, I’ll remain there. If not, great. It means the other girls are doing really well.”
None of the seven British entrants – Cameron Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and Jodie Burrage make up the contingent – are in action on the opening Sunday.
Fran Jones was unable to join them after losing in the final round of qualifying, a bizarre match which Ukraine’s Anastasiya Soboleva won 6-0 0-6 6-2.
Raducanu will play her first-round match, against China’s Wang Xinyu, on Monday.