With his presence at the French Open hanging desperately in the balance,Jack Draperstepped up to the baseline down two sets to one hoping that he would begin the new set with a fresh, clean slate to plot his recovery. Instead, he could only watch on helplessly as his opponent threaded four outlandish winners to break his serve to love.
It was that kind of evening for Draper, the fifth seed in Paris, who was outplayed by a stunning performance from the unseeded Alexander Bublik. The Kazakhstani, 27, held his nerve in front of a raucous Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd to close out an immense 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win and reach the quarter-finals of theFrench Openfor the first time in his career.
After working through his early tension last week to achieve his first win in Paris before putting away an inspired Gaël Monfils in frigid, heavy conditions, Draper entered the fourth round with expectations high after he completely dismantled the 18-year-old João Fonseca on Saturday.
Instead of a tough, attritional battle with Alex de Minaur, the highest-ranked seed in his section, Draper found himself against the enigmatic Bublik, who dramatically toppled De Minaur from two sets down in the second round. Bublik has been as high as No 17 in the rankings and on a good day he is an incredibly dangerous and unpredictable player. Today was the best day of his career.
From the very beginning, Bublik showed just how dangerous and unpredictable he can be as he rolled through his early service games with a mixture of destructive, pinpoint serving, sweet two-handed backhands and a constant stream of drop shots. The first set, however, progressed just how many thought it would. In the tight moments, Draper’s superior return of serve, movement and point-by-point focus separated him in a battle between two big servers as he emerged with the set.
The start of the second set was similarly unsurprising as Bublik, still reeling from the abrupt end to the first set, handed over a service game with a series of ill-advised drop shots. Just as it seemed like Draper had the match under control, however, it all fell apart. Bublik immediately forced himself back into the match with a spectacular exhibition of varied attacking tennis. He served brilliantly, keeping Draper out of his service games, pounding his excellent two-handed backhand and he continued to suffocate the left-hander with sickly sweet drop shots from all parts of the court.
Against an opponent who seemed to be able to do anything he could possibly want with the ball, Draper just couldn’t keep up. As his first serve crumbled, he lost confidence in his forehand and retreated into his shell. Most notably of all, for some time he seemed too stressed out to think clearly. From a set and a break down, Bublik rolled through 12 of the next 16 games to establish a two sets to one lead.
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Before the fourth set began, both players took a bathroom break. Draper emerged from the short intermission hoping to find his rhythm and force himself back into the match, but Bublik had other ideas. He immediately broke Draper’s serve to love with an unforgettable return game, closing it off with an effortless forehand return winner off Draper’s first serve. With the break in hand, Bublik served spectacularly while continuing to dominate from the baseline and weave his web of maddening drop shots. After a breathless, theatrical final game as Draper fought admirably until the end and generated five break points, Bublik found the courage to close out the best win of his career.
Considering the momentum and positivity surrounding Draper during this tournament, this will be an incredible tough loss for him to digest. He sees himself competing for these titles, not merely reaching the second week. However, after starting this season simply seeking his first breakthrough on red clay, he ends this period having won many matches, beaten quality players and established himself as a real threat. This loss will simply form another part of his development.