Jack Draper Looking Forward to Playing Against “Special” Joao Fonseca in the Third Round of the Roland Garros

Jack Draper and Joao Fonseca will face for the second time this season with the former winning their first meeting in straight sets.

Jack Draper Looking Forward to Playing Against “Special” Joao Fonseca in the Third Round of the Roland Garros

Joao Fonseca and Jack Draper (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Jack Draper earned his place in the third round of the Roland Garros after beating Gael Monfils in a thrilling four-set tie. The British star has continued his impressive form on clay and will face Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca next. Ahead of the match, he revealed that he will have to put in the hard work to get the better of the 18-year-old.

Draper began the clay swing with little experience on the surface but has shocked the tennis world with his fast-paced adaptability. He reached his first clay ATP Masters 1000 final in Madrid but lost the title to Casper Ruud.

The British star, however, broke into the Top 5 after the defeat. He then reached the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. He continued with the brilliant form at the Roland Garros, beating Mattia Bellucci in the first round before fighting hard to beat Monfils 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in three hours and 11 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

He will take on a sensational Fonseca, who battled through a rather difficult contest to defeat French wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4. The 18-year-old Brazilian channeled the energy from the lively crowd on Court 14 to secure a two-hour and 54 minutes victory to earn his place in the third round of the French Open.

Draper and Fonseca are into the third round of the French Open for the first time in their careers. They have faced each other just once and that came at the Indian Wells Masters second round, where the British star claimed a 6-4, 6-0 win. Ahead of their second clash in Paris, Draper praised the 18-year-old star:

It bodes well with my competitive nature that sort of thing, especially playing in Grand Slams in front of a lot of people. That is why I put in that hard work and go through what I go through daily. I am looking forward to playing against him, he is obviously a special player. I think I am going to be playing him a lot.

Fonseca is certain to reach a career-high World No.54 even though he loses to Draper. The Brazilian teenager has enjoyed a breakthrough start to the season, which began at the Australian Open, where he recorded his maiden Top 10 win against Andrey Rublev. In the first round of the French Open, he defeated 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Tennis legend predicts Jack Draper will win multiple Grand Slams after beating Gael Monfils

Jack Draper has impressed this season with his style of play. The British star has reached three finals already while claiming his only title of the year at the Indian Wells Masters. Also, on clay, he has been in top form. Against Gael Monfils, he took his game to a higher level to topple the Frenchman at the Roland Garros.

Jack Draper (via X/ATP)
Jack Draper (via X/ATP)

After the match, John McEnroe didn’t hold back in his praise of Draper’s character on the court despite the crowd supporting Monfils. He revealed during a conversation on TNT Sports that Draper is going to win multiple Grand Slams in the future:

I tell you one thing, he won a lot of fans tonight with the way he played and the way he acted and the way he handled the whole situation. It’s one of those matches that you’re proud to be a tennis player…I mean, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t win multiple majors. It is incredible how much he’s improving and how great a player he’s become.

The British No.1 is among the underdogs to win the French Open. He has consistently reached the quarter-finals of all the clay tournaments he has played this season, apart from the Monte Carlo Masters.

Also Read: Venus Williams Makes Hilarious ‘Diapers’ Remark While Lauding Joao Fonseca