Jack Draper has picked up where he left off at the Italian Open and is through to the third round after defeating Luciano Darderi in his opening match.
The Briton has enjoyed an impressive clay-court season so far, with Draper reaching the final of the Madrid Open, where he ultimately fell to Casper Ruud.
Draper has taken his red-hot clay form to the Italian Open and is off to the perfect start, clearing aside the Italian home hope Darderi in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
Following his victory, Draper gave his thoughts on the Italian crowd, who former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli kept a close eye on during the 23-year-old’s warmup.
Marion Bartoli says everyone is ‘starting to know’ Jack Draper at the Italian Open
Speaking to Sky Sports during Draper’s practice, Bartoli said: “You can tell everyone is starting to know him as well because as soon as he walked on court and dropped his bag on the chair, you just had that massive roar from all the crowd.”
“A lot of young fans as well were waiting eagerly to get an autograph at the end of his practice with their ball waiting to have it signed. It’s just great to see all the excitement around Jack.”
She added: “I think Jack has been doing an amazing job of capitalising from Jannik Sinner being away from a few tournaments and especially Masters 1000. When you have a small opening in the draw you have to take your chance and he did.”
“In Indian Wells, winning the final, in the final of Madrid, its just all those great wins at such a big event that help you jump into another category of player.”
Jack Draper’s impressive 2025 ATP season so far
Draper has built upon his breakout season in 2024, in which he clinched his first career title.
The Briton continues to improve and has moved even further up the rankings, overtaking Novak Djokovic to become the world number five.
After being forced to retire during his fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open due to injury, Draper made the final at the Qatar Open, falling just short over three sets to Andrey Rublev.
| Tournament | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | Fourth-Round | Carlos Alcaraz (Retired) |
| Qatar Open | Final | Andrey Rublev (L) |
| Indian Wells | Winner | Holger Rune (W) |
| Miami Open | First-Round | Jakub Mensik (L) |
| Monte-Carlo | Second-Round | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (L) |
| Madrid Open | Final | Casper Ruud (L) |
The following month, Draper won his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, tearing through the draw while only dropping a set throughout the tournament.
Despite early exits at the Miami Open and Monte-Carlo Masters, Draper made the final of the Madrid Open in early May, marking his first final at a clay-court Masters 1000 event.
The young star has proved he can take his game to another level on the dirt, and will look to march on in the Eternal City in search of his fourth career title.
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