ATP Tour

Draper on Roland Garros loss: 'It hurts a lot, but I just move on'

Jack Draper earned impressive clay-court wins against Gael Monfils and Joao Fonseca but saw his Roland Garros run come to an end Monday at the unlikely hands of Alexander Bublik.

The British No. 1, up to No. 4 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings for the moment, had not earned a win in two appearances at the clay-court major prior to this fortnight. But Bublik, who has struggled on clay for much of his career, ended his run with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 result.

"It was a tough match. I didn't play a good match, but I also didn't play a bad match. I thought he played incredibly well. He didn't allow me to play my tennis, I don't think," said Draper, who was seeking his second major quarter-final after a semi-final showing at last year's US Open.

"I don't think I've reached my best level this week. Then today just a couple of dips here and there, and he took advantage," the 23-year-old continued. "Usually when you play someone like Alexander, he's quite up and down with his level, but he was completely locked in. He's obviously been that way this week, and that's why he's beaten De Minaur and top players.

"Yeah, it hurts a lot, but I just move on."

Draper pointed to Bublik's serve and his repeated use of the drop shot as key aspects of the match. Despite his lack of previous experience and success on the surface, Draper still feels it was a missed opportunity against the No. 62 in the PIF ATP Rankings, whom he had beaten in both of their previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings.

"I'm incredibly disappointed with the result. Obviously I'm coming into the clay-court season having barely won any matches on the clay before. I keep that in mind, obviously, but I felt good. I felt good coming into this tournament. I felt like my level was building.

"Then today, it's a really, really tough loss to take for me. My journey, even though I've come up quickly this year, I've got myself to a high ranking, it's always been a steep learning curve for me. There's always been a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries, a lot of setbacks. This is another one of those tough matches. I'll learn from it and I'll get better, and I'll use it to my advantage."

While Draper said he is "really proud" of the way he adapted to the clay, he is very much looking forward to the grass-court season.

"I'm going to be very happy to get off the clay. That's just a fact," he said. "I'll be happy to get on a faster surface, a surface that I'm much more comfortable moving on. Yeah, I look forward to being back home, being on the grass, for sure."