Suffering a shock loss in the Roland Garros last 16 is a mark of how far Draper has come in the past year.
Twelve months ago in Paris, the 23-year-old Englishman suffered a chastening first-round defeat to 176th-ranked Dutchman Jesper de Jong while still figuring out what his most effective game style was.
Realising he was trying to be too aggressive, Draper sought a better balance. Winning his first ATP title just a few weeks later helped boost his confidence before he enjoyed a run to the US Open semi-finals.
Improved fitness has also been a key factor.
After winning the biggest title of his career on the Indian Wells hard courts in March, he quickly set about using his most potent tools – first serve and forehand – on the clay.
Reaching the Madrid Open final showed he had the ability to be succeed on the surface and he played maturely in his first three matches in Paris, before being thrown off-kilter by Bublik.
There is no doubting Bublik’s talent, but plenty of questions have been raised about his application.
He was locked in from the start as neither player could create a break opportunity in an evenly matched opening set until Draper applied pressure in the 10th game.
Bublik buckled, with a double fault gifting Draper the chance to serve out the opening set – and the Briton took his opportunity.
But Draper was punished as soon as his level dropped in the second set, with Bublik coming back from an early break down to level the match.
The increasing use – and success – of the drop-shot allowed Bublik to forge a double-break lead in the third set, with Draper looking increasingly befuddled as he tried to find a solution.
A bathroom break before the fourth set did not provide an answer, though, as Draper lost his serve in the opening game and could not recover the deficit despite his late rally.
Leave a Reply