Draper survives dramatic Moutet tussle to reach Italian Open quarter-final

The Guardian

13-05-2025

Just when it seemed like Jack Draper had weathered the storm in his dramatic, anxiety-filled fourth round tussle at the Italian Open, all hell broke loose. Draper had recovered well from a difficult start and he offered himself a chance to serve for the second set against Corentin Moutet and level the match. Instead, he played one of the worst service games of his life.
In the face of that adversity, like so many other times on Tuesday afternoon, Draper gave an impressive exhibition of his growing mental strength and inner belief as he regrouped and found a way into the quarter-finals in Rome with an excellent 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Having never reached a clay court ATP quarterfinal above ATP 250 level three weeks ago, Draper has now reached consecutive Masters 1000 quarter-finals on the surface. He has also reached the quarter-finals in three of the five Masters 1000 tournaments played so far in 2025.
Over the past week, his first as a global top five player, Draper has again broken new ground. In his third round match, despite a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 scoreline against the qualifier Vit Kopriva, the difficulty of competing for three weeks in a row after his run to the Madrid Open final was plain for all to see. Frustrated with his low intensity, Draper obliterated his racket midway through the second set before closing out the match.
Fresh off a spectacular upset win against the ninth seed Holger Rune, Moutet is well known for his varied, crafty lefty game and his extroverted personality on court. He can be an incredibly tricky opponent for all players. From the beginning, Moutet made use of every tool at his disposal. He served and volleyed throughout the opening set, effectively exposing Draper's deep return position while peppering the Briton with a mixture of spins and slices. Along with his excellent defence, he outmaneuvered Draper with his forehand in the lengthier rallies. As Moutet soared, Draper retreated into his shell, playing nervous, tentative tennis.
At the end of such a one-sided first set, Draper spent almost the entire changeover hyping himself up. He started the second set with more energy and aggression, piecing together consecutive service holds to start the set and he adopted a more advanced return position. Moutet, however, continued to play brilliantly, unlocking more layers to his game with his drop shots and court craft.
The complexion of the match was already changing when they reached a potential turning point as Draper served at 3-3 in the second set. On the opening point of the game, Draper retrieved another of Moutet's countless drop shots, with the Frenchman missing the subsequent shot. Moutet called for a video review, and then argued at length with the umpire, Nico Helwerth, after the point was awarded to his opponent.
Shortly after Draper's service hold for 4-3, the Briton finally secured his first break of the match and an opportunity to serve for the second set. Instead, he crumbled, striking a double fault and two dire drop shot attempts and losing his serve to love. He regrouped brilliantly, however, closing out the match in the subsequent game with a break.
Even after such a second-set ending, Moutet refused to let his level drop. He spent much of the third set picking Draper apart with a constant stream of perfectly-measured drop shots. Draper, however, had finally found his rhythm on serve and he marched through his own service games with some of his most offensive shot-making of the match. The constant pressure he exerted finally yielded the decisive break as he took another step forward in his clay court development.