Laura Robson thinks she knows why Jack Draper lost to Carlos Alcaraz at the Italian Open

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Jack Draper had won eight of his previous nine matches on clay ahead of his Italian Open quarterfinal match.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a brilliant tournament in Spain last time out when Draper reached the final of the Madrid Open, coming up just short against Casper Ruud.

Carrying that momentum forward to Rome, Draper beat home-favorite Luciano Darderi in his opening match.

A comfortable win against Czechia’s Vit Kopriva followed before Draper advanced past Corentin Moutet, despite losing the first set 1-6.

Searching for a place in his third Masters 1000 semi-final of the year, Draper lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6.

After the match, former British tennis star Laura Robson shared her theory as to why the world number five fell to defeat against the Spaniard.

Laura Robson says Jack Draper didn’t have the ‘energy’ to ‘turn the tide’ against Carlos Alcaraz in Rome

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Robson gave her verdict on why Draper came unstuck against Alcaraz.

“It just felt like in the big moments, he [Alcaraz] was ever so slightly fresher with his footwork,” she said.

“That plays a huge part when you’ve got as many matches under your belt as Jack [Draper] has, over the last three weeks, mentally you’re battling away, physically you’re battling away, and you just feel like you’ve got no energy to turn the tide.

“It was very close. I don’t think 6-4, 6-4 tells the full story of the match.

“But it was a match where Jack will be thinking maybe he could’ve edged a couple of those key moments.”

Draper was playing his ninth match in 18 days against Alcaraz, a natural complication that players who make deep runs at competitions have to deal with.

Robson went on to explain what she found ‘interesting’ about Draper and Alcaraz’s Italian Open quarterfinal clash.

“It was an interesting match for me, because it was ebbing and flowing, neither player was playing well at the same point in the match, definitely flashes of brilliance from both players,” she said.

“Jack had such a good start but then lost a bit of intensity with his footwork, there was that game where he had that break in the first, then I felt that split-step off his serve in that following game was a split second slower, and that’s all it takes to let someone back in of Carlos Alcaraz’s quality.

“From there, they were trying to figure each other out. Carlos was using the drop shot a lot.”

Draper will now look to rest and recover ahead of the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 25.

Laura Robson noticed Carlos Alcaraz looking more ‘relaxed’ during his win over Jack Draper

The ex-WTA star was impressed with Alcaraz’s performance against Draper and revealed what she noticed about him during the match.

“It just felt like one of these matches where he looks relaxed again. That hasn’t always been the case this year with his tennis,” said Robson.

“There were moments in the second set, especially, where he was laughing over to his players’ box. Kind of giggling away between the points because he was trying new things.

“He played a smart match, used the drop shot really well at times when Jack was dropping behind the baseline, of course he’s going to miss a few along with that, but knowing what Jack’s strengths are and being able to neutralise them.”

“There were moments where his serve was going through the body on the deuce side, so Jack can’t take the backhand return early, he also can’t go around and hit an inside in forehand, and maybe playing the 30-30 points slightly better than Jack today.”

Robson shared her thoughts on Alcaraz and Draper’s rivalry, following their sixth career meeting.

“It was very little in it, they know each other’s games so well at this point, it’s going to be fine margins in this matchup,” she said.

Alcaraz now leads Draper 4-2, in the head-to-head, securing his second win over the Brit in 2025.

The Spanish star will now turn his attentions to his semi-final match in Rome, where he’ll take on the in-form home-favorite, Lorenzo Musetti, on Friday, May 16.