Draper rides fast start past Darderi in Rome, 2024 champ Zverev eases through

Jack Draper expertly dampened the spirits of a passionate Foro Italico crowd on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings sunk home favourite Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-4 to kick-start his campaign at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 in Rome. Draper raced to the opening set in just 24 minutes after breaking his opponent’s serve three times, before prevailing in a more competitive second set to clinch victory.

“I think I came out really well,” said Draper. “I think mentally I knew it was going to be a little bit difficult and I’m glad about how I played in certain moments. I think I needed a match here to feel like I was strong again and I just think it was a really good mental performance today.”

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Draper arrived in Rome as one of the ATP Tour’s in-form players. After clinching his maiden Masters 1000 crown in March in Indian Wells, he became the first player to reach multiple finals at that level in 2025 with a championship-match appearance last week in Madrid.

The 23-year-old lefty certainly began confidently in the Italian capital, where he outhit Darderi by 12 winners to one in the first set to almost silence a previously hyped-up home crowd. In contrast, the second set was more of a battle for the Briton, but he saved all six break points he faced in the set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Darderi.

“I knew it was going to be tough, especially after the past fortnight,” said Draper after drawing level with Lorenzo Musetti for the most Masters 1000 main-draw wins in 2025. “I put a lot of energy into that, so coming here to different conditions, a different environment, I had to adapt quickly against a good player in a different atmosphere. I thought I did a great job today of handling that, and hopefully as the rounds progress, I can keep on getting better.”

2025 ATP Masters 1000 Win Leaders

With his 20th tour-level win of the season, Draper strengthened his position in second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Briton also ramped up the pressure on Taylor Fritz as he tries to overtake the American for No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings ahead of Roland Garros, which would grant him the privilege of not having to face a top-four seed before the semi-finals. Draper currently trails Fritz by just 155 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Awaiting the fifth-seeded Draper in the third round will be Vit Kopriva, after the Czech qualifier upset 32nd seed Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. A three-time ATP Tour champion, Draper will be chasing the 100th tour-level victory of his career when he steps on court to face Kopriva.

Second seed Alexander Zverev also enjoyed a comfortable opening win on Friday as he kick-started his Rome title defence with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Zverev converted six of 10 break points he earned to improve to 23-1 in Rome against players from outside the Top 5 of the PIF ATP Rankings. The German will take qualifier Vilius Gaubas in the third round, after the 20-year-old Lithuanian upset Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4.

“I think in general it was a pretty good match,” said Zverev. “He’s obviously not a guy who has the biggest game, but all in all I did my things well and I’m happy about that.”