If there’s anyone on tour who knows and respects Jack Draper’s game, it’s Andrey Rublev – having played him twice in three months last year – openly expecting the 21-year-old Brit to succeed before another injury-plagued 2023 season. That’s why it felt symbolic the tournament’s eighth seed withstood his best efforts to prevail in a four-set tussle yesterday, setting up another meeting with childhood friend and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the process.
Rublev outlasts Draper in last-16 clash
Rublev [8] bt. Draper 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Draper started well enough, had his moments and a 2-0 third set advantage, but physically waned as time wore on and rallies intensified
- “I knew he was feeling it in the third, hasn’t played a lot of matches lately after injury, so had to [take it up a notch],” Rublev says post-match
- 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev awaits him on Wednesday after similarly winning in four sets against Australia’s Alex de Minaur
As nice as his wins over Hubert Hurkacz and Michael Mmoh were, this was unchartered territory for Britain’s 21-year-old Jack Draper.
Into the round-of-16 at a Major tournament for the first time in his career, at precisely the same event he came closest twelve months ago, the pressure was off.
After all, here sat a player outside the world’s top 100 rankings – injury-enforced inactivity will do that – and at #105 post-tournament, there’s still work to be done.
During Sky Sports commentary on Monday, they discussed a niggling shoulder issue he suffered at Winston-Salem the previous week which doctors deemed safe for him to play through here, yet that will need to be cleaned sooner rather than later.
Having missed time through a similar shoulder complaint flaring up during his French Open first-round match against eventual quarterfinalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry, some interesting quotes came from the Guardian’s recent piece.
“Everyday was sort of groundhog day, getting up and going into training, making sure we do the best to have a great day – listening to a lot of David Goggins. Just trying to motivate each other, get back to where we are, around people going through the same struggles and sort of paths. I was lucky during that period.”
That period was one of intense rehab, helped by the presence of a fellow British player and close friend Paul Jubb after the 23-year-old’s own nagging ankle injury.
He’s only been able to complete 11 matches on tour this season, Draper now has 24, though Grand Slam defeats by Rafael Nadal (Australian Open) and now Rublev were exacerbated by him physically flagging once the best-of-five-sets match went deep.
Rublev held his nerve to win 7-5 in a deciding set when the pair met in Madrid last year, and this battle had all the makings of a four-hour classic from the very first ball.
Draper had a brief look at break point before the Russian responded to win multiple pressure points and hold serve, setting the tone for a stanza settled by a single break.
A war of attrition looked likely as Rublev’s level dipped slightly to start set two, as Draper took rally balls earlier in the court and got his reward for an aggressive – but efficient – tactic, watching the 25-year-old start to combust down the other end.
Although he served five aces across the course of set three, he didn’t get nearly as many first serves into play (13/19, 68%) compared to 82% (18/22) when he levelled the score and Rublev capitalised on a bulk of those second serve points.
Having saved a pair of break points to hold at 3-3, the same couldn’t be said two games later as Rublev cranked up the pressure and kept him pinned behind the baseline with booming groundstrokes – after racing through service holds himself.
You could see Draper start to physically struggle, exactly at the time where he briefly led with the uncomfortable visual of him on his haunches between points and lacking conviction after being broken saw the writing on the wall.
Rublev could smell blood and although he hasn’t mastered the biggest events, you can’t afford to let him dictate and reel off winners the way Draper conceded – not for want of trying – as they battled into a fourth.
The Monte-Carlo champion is now a nine-time Major quarterfinalist, but hasn’t yet surpassed that achievement in six years since his first at Flushing Meadows in 2017.
Who has he lost to?
2017: Rafael Nadal (US Open)
2020: Stefanos Tsitsipas (French Open), Daniil Medvedev (US)
2021: Medvedev (Australian Open)
2022: Marin Cilic (Paris), Frances Tiafoe (US)
2023: Novak Djokovic (Australia, then Wimbledon)
Persistence pays and he’ll hope to end that hoodoo tomorrow, against a childhood friend that fell short earlier than many expected twelve months ago himself.
The former world no. 1 leads the H2H 5-2 with Rublev’s two recent victories (Cincinnati, ATP Finals) came from a set down in tight matches and Medvedev won last time out in a straightforward Dubai final on March 4. What’s in store next?
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 