Après son succès contre Gaël Monfils, le Britannique Jack Draper a de nouveau rafraîchi l'ambiance en s'offrant le phénomène Joao Fonseca. Jack Draper est sorti largement vainqueur de l'un des matchs les plus attendus de cette première semaine du tableau principal. Face à Joao Fonseca, il a usé de toutes ses armes pour rallier les huitièmes de finale (6/2, 6/4, 6/2 en 1h46).
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00:00BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland Garros, aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:30A slight wobble to close out the second set, but apart from that, yeah, it was a good match against a good up-and-coming player.
00:44Hey Jack, well played. The drop shot was incredibly effective today. How much of that was a plan that you and Trotz had come up with going in, and how much of it was just you being like, oh, you know, it's working really well, so I'm just going to keep on doing it?
00:58Yeah, I think it was a bit of that, to be honest. I felt like, you know, I was pushing him back with my forehand quite a lot, and then that shot was open.
01:09I felt like, obviously, maybe physically he was struggling a little bit towards the back end of the second and the third set as well, so it was a good play because it takes a lot out of you having to run for drop shots,
01:22and I was hitting them for once pretty well today, so it was a good play. I think when you are pushing someone back with the heavy forehands or something like that,
01:33then, you know, they're not expecting that one, so, yeah.
01:38Do you feel like he's kind of maybe where you were a couple of years ago, where he's got all the raw materials, but he hasn't quite worked out sort of his best way of applying them yet?
01:46Yeah, probably. You know, I think, you know, it's obviously physically more difficult in the Grand Slams as well.
01:57You know, he's in the third round. How old is he, 18? I mean, it's pretty impressive.
02:01I mean, I'm 23, so that's five years, and the amount I've changed in one year, so I think he just needs time.
02:10He's already, what, top 50 in the world. He's doing incredible things, and his experience and everything's only going to grow with more matches,
02:21more experience playing top players, more time practicing around, and, you know, I think it's just, yeah, it's only going to go up for him.
02:31I think it's going to be scary what he's going to be able to achieve, I'm sure.
02:38On the drop shots again, you're never complimentary of them normally, so I'm curious, in general, like, there are some players who kind of stick to what they're most comfortable with
02:48and what their strengths are, whereas you play them a lot and maybe do other things that aren't necessarily in your comfort zone.
02:54How important is that for you to kind of push yourself out of your comfort zone and not just do what feels most comfortable?
03:02Yeah, I mean, it feels, sometimes, you know, it feels pretty natural to play them in matches.
03:08I don't practice drop shots. You know, I never, I always say to my coach, I don't, we don't practice drop shots because I've just hit them worse.
03:16Yeah, you know, the more I practice them, the worse I get, so it just comes to me naturally in matches because, like I said, you know, I'm able to push opponents back off the court
03:27and then that makes me feel comfortable to hit a drop shot because I maybe don't have to be that great because, you know, they're so far back.
03:36So, yeah, I mean, most, most of the stuff in my games within my comfort zone, you know, serve volley, sometimes I'll use that.
03:44I feel comfortable serving volleying, but I could do that more.
03:49And against the best players in the world, you have to mix it up more and more.
03:52So I felt like, yeah, it was a, it was a shot that I used well today and it was effective.
04:00Jack, just to follow up, I guess on your opponent, it looked a little bit for him today, like it was a bit of a step up.
04:05Too big a step up in quality of opponent playing you.
04:08And I just wondered, when you were sort of coming through similar age, what were the things that kind of rocked you back about,
04:14well, I'm used to kind of winning matches and suddenly I'm playing guys such another, like when you played Novak maybe,
04:20what were the things that kind of stood out to you?
04:23Yeah, I mean, I think in Grand Slams as well, like the physical challenge, that gets in your head a little bit,
04:28thinking, oh, you know, it's one thing beating guys ranked, you know, 30 to 100 at five sets.
04:38But obviously playing, you know, someone who's confident and someone who's, you know,
04:45playing good tennis to feel like you have to win three sets is, it's a big physical challenge.
04:50I think that's tough when you haven't played loads of Grand Slams events.
04:55I think obviously just maybe just that experience of beating top, top players.
05:02If you don't have that, then you maybe feel a little bit like it's, you have to do a lot with your tennis.
05:10You have to overplay maybe.
05:11I think last couple of times I played against Xiao, he's, you know, come out really aggressive and, you know,
05:18I'm physical, I'm able to get behind ball after ball and therefore maybe he feels like he needs to do too much.
05:25But I think, yeah, it's just experience time and experience exposure to playing against the best players in the world
05:33and that, you know, only enhances your belief because you've been there and done it before and you'll do it again.
05:41Hi, Jack. As Simon was saying, you've been through the process he's going through now
05:47and now you've made this huge leap in the last year.
05:50I just wonder, is there a match that you could pinpoint where you felt things are different now?
05:56Maybe not that I've cracked it, but that I feel differently about where I am.
06:03Yeah. I mean, I think after I lost here last year, I was at a stage when I was,
06:09you know, I'd got to number 40 in the world and I was trying to, you know,
06:16figure out what I was going to have to do to make a leap in my tennis.
06:20There wasn't, I guess there wasn't really any match that really changed it for me.
06:24I think winning my first title, that was the biggest thing for me because I felt like, you know,
06:29I think I'd been in two or three finals.
06:31And I always say that sometimes in tennis that you can be a top, top player,
06:38but you might not have anything to your name.
06:40You know, you can look on, sometimes it's nice to know, at least I've won a title, you know,
06:46at least I've done something.
06:49So I think that was a big weight off my shoulders last year when I won Stuttgart.
06:53And then I sort of progressed from there, really.
06:56That gave me the belief that I was, you know, right there and making the semis of the US Open
07:03gave me that same effect.
07:04I think the more that I've accomplished, that's just helped me more and more to believe
07:08that I'm a top player.
07:09that mixed with being really consistent in my practices and, you know, like being able
07:19to play against the best players in the world, learn from them, practice with them.
07:25I don't know, it's just a mixture of everything.
07:28But I would say confidence is one, it's a confident sport.
07:32But the main thing is being consistent in what I'm trying to do with my tennis and finding,
07:38I guess, the blueprint of my game, which has only come together more and more.
07:44Hi, Jack.
07:46Sort of connected to what you were just saying about the US Open's effect on your self-belief,
07:52are there things you learned during that deep run there in New York that you can apply to
07:58other Grand Slam tournaments and the differences that there are between playing a Grand Slam
08:04and playing a one-week event?
08:06Yeah, I mean, there's definitely differences.
08:08I think, you know, you have to sometimes pick your moments when to really push hard
08:16and when to maybe step your foot off the gas a little bit in Grand Slam matches.
08:22You know, the first couple of games, the sets are really important to get your foot in the door,
08:26especially if you've maybe won the first set or, I don't know.
08:30I want to get to the point where I feel like I am able to push really hard physically all the time.
08:36But I think you learn to sort of, yeah, like I said, when to push and when not to.
08:43The run in New York was great for me.
08:44I think the more times I've played five-set matches, whether it be three sets, four sets,
08:50it just helps you to, you know, feel like you've done it more and more times.
08:55You know, I think of Andy and Novak and all those top guys,
08:59and they've just played hundreds and hundreds of these matches.
09:02I don't know how many they've played, but it just helps every time you step out there in a Grand Slam match
09:08and you complete another one, and that just banks more experience, I suppose.
09:13But I guess getting to the semi-final, that helped me massively, yeah.
09:18Hey, Jack.
09:20You've got two straightforward wins now over Fonseca.
09:23I know you've kind of spoken about he has less experience than you.
09:26He's still been able to beat top players like Rublev.
09:28So do you think it's also a bit of a match-up thing, and what is it about your game versus his?
09:35I don't know.
09:36I feel like both times I've played him, it's been hot in the heat of the day,
09:39and I'm able to get the ball rising on him.
09:43He's someone who likes to really hit through the court and hit hard.
09:46And when the ball's, like, up here at shoulder height, it's harder to, I don't know,
09:51keep on hitting winners and going after the ball.
09:53I guess when I'm able to get behind every ball and the ball's coming back,
09:58it's harder to – he feels like he has to maybe go for more and more.
10:02I feel like the times I've played him, yeah, like, it's just I'm able to get the ball back with quality more and more,
10:12and that's – yeah, he feels like he has to go for too much.
10:15That's what it feels like.
10:18He served really well today at the start.
10:20I felt like I got a lot of returns back, and that puts pressure on as well.
10:23I served well myself.
10:24I don't know.
10:27I don't want to say it's a good matchup for me because I think I'm going to play him many more times,
10:31and I think he's going to only improve and get better and better.
10:35But definitely these first couple of times I played him, I felt like, yeah, my quality's been really good.
