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As 15,000 people cheered on his pottential demise late into Thursday night, for a sustained period Jack Draper looked completely frazzled. He found himself playing a few too many drop shots, bailing out of points instead of slamming the door shut. His first serve had vacated the premises.
These things often happen in Gaël Monfils’ lair, Court Philippe-Chatrier, where his magnetic personality draws his home crowd into a frenzy and his singular style plays tricks with an opponent’s mind. Despite being pushed to his limits and standing on the verge of an uncertain fifth set, Draper gave another demonstration of his mental durability by finding his way through to the third round of the French Open with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win.
“No offence taken,” Draper told the crowd afterwards. “This is why I play tennis, to play in front of big crowds, whether they are with me or against me. That’s the entertainment of tennis, so this is why I play.”
In the short time that Roland Garros has held night sessions, Monfils, 38, has become their most reliable headliner and over the years he has found himself embroiled in many battles on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Two nights earlier, Monfils had orchestrated another magical evening after recovering from two sets down to defeat Hugo Dellien. It remained to be seen how he would recover after such a tough match.
Although Draper, the fifth seed, worked through a dominant opening set, dictating comfortably with his serve and forehand, it soon became clear that Monfils was up to the challenge. Every time Draper committed an error, the crowd tried to force itself into the conversation. Eventually, it had its way. First Draper began to lose control of his forehand, unforced errors piling up as Monfils’ defence made him to overplay. Then came some magic from Monfils, who had the ball on a string as he continually turned points around from impossible positions with his athleticism, hand skills and timing. He quickly levelled the match at one set all.
As Monfils’ focus waned and Draper re-established his forehand dominance, it seemed for a while that the Briton would ease away. After closing out the third set, he generated four break points in Monfils’ opening service game of the fourth. Somehow, Monfils survived with a hold and then he put together a remarkable series of games, veering between drawing errors from Draper, chasing down every last ball and stepping inside the baseline to obliterate forehands. As Draper tried to figure Monfils out, he lost control.
“My brain was fried out here,” said Draper. “I’m not sure if I’m gonna go to sleep tonight, my brain is just all over the place with what he’s doing out there. That’s why he’s had such a successful career. That’s why he is loved by all the fans. The players love to watch him play as well, but not to play against him.”
Monfils established a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, and then he later generated double set point on Draper’s serve at 5-4. But every time he truly needed to, on the most important points of the match, Draper played focused attacking tennis and the 23-year-old was much fresher physically than his veteran opponent. Draper reeled off five consecutive games, closing out a victory that will only strengthen his rapidly growing self-belief.
At the end of an unforgettable night at Roland Garros, the two players finished their tussle with a long hug and before Monfils departed, he enthusiastically encouraged his victorious opponent. After being subjected to the notorious French crowd’s scorn for more than three hours, Draper finally received their congratulations.
“I think I have to acknowledge Gaël,” said Draper. “It is the first time on the court but what a battle, what an experience against someone I admire as a tennis player, but off the court the guy’s incredibly nice. Such a joker, he’s a magician. He does everything. Huge respect to him and I hope he is able to play here one more time again.”
Another great challenge awaits Draper in round three as he will next face the 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid João Fonseca, whom he beat on his way to the title in Indian Wells earlier this year.
