British junior reaches French Open final for first time in 49 years – thanks to Jack Draper
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Klugman thanked Jack Draper for his support and reassurance after becoming the first British junior to reach a singles final at the French Open in 49 years.
Klugman came back from an early deficit on Friday afternoon to defeat Bulgaria's Rositsa Dencheva in a high-quality semi-final. Afterwards, she spoke warmly about Draper's contribution to her success.
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'I struggled a little bit [last season] results-wise,' said Klugman after her 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. 'I was working so hard and I felt like I was getting better, but I wasn't seeing results.
'My coach knows Jack quite well, so he set up a lunch for me, and I think he opened my perspective that everyone goes through these troubles, these issues. You don't realise it, but they are.
'[We talked about] taking a step back and taking your time and realising it's OK. His big thing is consistency, every day working hard with the right mentality and things will come, it's just a matter of time. As soon as you get that level, everything comes.'
By progressing to the girls' final – where she will play Austria's Lilli Tagger on Saturday – Klugman's added another good-news story to what has already been an encouraging French Open for the British contingent.
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Draper may have been disappointed by his fourth-round loss to Alexander Bublik, but overall we saw more players progressing in the main singles draw than at any time in the last half-century.
Jack Draper reached the fourth round in men's singles at Roland Garros this year - Reuters/Lisi Niesner
Klugman is part of a strong generation of British girls, which also includes Mika Stojsavljevic – winner of September's US Open title – and Mingge Xu. Klugman made her name before the others when she won the 2023 Orange Bowl under-18 competition in Miami at the age of 14, thus following in the footsteps of numerous major champions including Coco Gauff, Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin.
Asked about her familiarity with clay – traditionally the most uncongenial surface for British players – Klugman replied: 'I wouldn't say I've played a lot, but I've probably played more than most British players. I started going to Barcelona with Jordi [Vilaro, her assistant coach], and I've improved massively by going there on the clay. I think it's really helped me.
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'I think it's just a mentality thing. It's different. Every point is a grind, you've got to be ready for it and I think accepting that is the key. Me and my coach [Ben Haran] said, 'Let's do two months on clay, get my tennis better, my mentality better'. It's the end of the clay-court season and I'm doing really well.'
Klugman has a strong serve and a big, heavy topspin forehand that can be highly effective on these courts. Even though she is one of the youngest players in this competition, and could potentially play two more years of junior slam tennis, she said on Friday that she expects to turn professional next season.
'I came through very young,' said Klugman, who grew up not far from the All England Club in Wimbledon. 'I won Orange Bowl at 14, so I think this may be probably my last year [as a junior], hopefully.
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'Juniors has been a big thing for me. Playing well when you're not the underdog, it's different. It's hard. You have to learn that.
'I'm trying to block that out and not have expectations. So not think, 'Why am I losing when I'm better than her?' It's not like that – in tennis anything can happen. It's about playing your best game and trying mentally to be there for every point.'
The last British junior of either sex to reach a final at Roland Garros was Michelle Tyler, who won the girls' title in 1976. Tyler went on to have a modest singles career, and to play doubles with Sue Barker – the 1976 champion here – before retiring in her early 20s.
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