Jack Draper becomes ‘reader’ without ‘phone and bullsh*t’ during huge power outage in Spain
Jack Draper received a walkover from Matteo Berrettini in the third round of the Madrid Open, held on Tuesday (April 29).
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Jack Draper (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)
Like most of the tennis players in Madrid, Jack Draper too turned off his phone and did something useful when Spain witnessed a massive power outage. Draper is not a bookworm but he was very proud after finishing 10 pages of a book during the blackout.
The exact reason behind the power failure is yet to be known. The blackout happened around 12 p.m. local time and came back on around 9 p.m. local time. Only two Women’s matches and one Men’s match were completed. A total of 22 matches were postponed.
Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva defeated Belinda Bencic and Yuliia Starodubtseva, respectively; while Matteo Arnaldi, after upsetting three-time Madrid Open champion Novak Djokovic, knocked out Damir Dzumhur on Monday. Because of the blackout, there was no running water and several players lit candles during dinner time.
Daniil Medvedev had a sandwich dinner because there was no hot food, while Iga Swiatek did not think about what she needed to do during that time and simply chilled out. Gauff and several, instead of being too focused on their matches, talked to each other. Andreeva found the atmosphere interesting. Draper read a book, though he chose not to reveal the name of the book.
I was actually enjoying it. I’m a bit of a minimalist…It was actually so nice to have no phones and none of that other bullsh*t going on in the world. You just try and focus on what’s important. I ended up reading like 10 pages of a book. Usually, I don’t read at all. So it was interesting.
Jack Draper told Tennis TV
The aforementioned interview he gave after his Madrid Open third-round match against Matteo Berrettini. The Italian, after losing the first set 7-6(2) gave a walkover to the Brit, following which the latter scheduled his fourth clash with Tommy Paul.
Draper lifted the biggest title of his career this year. Last month, he breezed past Holger Rune to lift the Indian Wells, en route to which, he also denied Carlos Alcaraz a chance to complete a three-peat in the California desert.
Stefanos Tsitispas reveals how he spent his time during the blackout in Spain
When matches resumed on Tuesday, Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a straight-set defeat to Lorenzo Musetti. While a power cut made Jack Draper a reader, and saw several players turn their phone off to engage in different activities, Monday was just a normal day for Tsitsipas.
It didn’t worry me too much, honestly. I’m probably the most suitable person for something like that to happen to him. I knew how to spend my time. I read I had nice conversations with Paula [Badosa] and her team. I didn’t worry, these things give me a reason to do something different and I had a good day.
Stefanos Tsitsipas told Tennis News Greece
Tsitsipas was bidding to win his second title of the season after ending his trophy drought at the Dubai Open with a straight-set win against Felix Auger-Aliassime. He was expected to win a title on the clay swing but so far in the season, Tsitsipas lost to Musetti in the Mont Carlo Masters quarterfinal and gave a walkover to Arthur Fils in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals after losing two games, before registering a second consecutive defeat to Musetti in the Spanish capital.
Badosa, on the other hand, withdrew from the Madrid Open. She last won a title at the 2024 Citi Open. This year, the Spaniard, since losing the Australian Open semifinal against eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka, failed to win more than two matches in the next five tournaments she played.
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