Tim Henman tells Jack Draper exactly what he needs to do to beat Gael Monfils at the French Open

Tim Henman has offered some sage advice for Jack Draper, ahead of his second-round French Open match against Gael Monfils.

However, at one point, this looked redundant.

After all, the pundit delivered his speech following the Brit’s impressive four-set victory over Mattia Bellucci, but before Monfils had kickstarted his clash with Hugo Dellien.

Seeing the Bolivian race into a two-set lead therefore likely had Henman, Draper and most of France stunned at the prospect of this almighty upset.

Unsurprisingly, Monfils fought back to win in five, setting up the mouth-watering match many were craving and once again making Henman’s advice of use.

Tim Henman offers Jack Draper key Roland Garros advice

Speaking on TNT Sports, before Monfils’ match as mentioned earlier, Henman sought to provide Jack Draper with the tools to trouble the 38-year-old.

After all, despite his seniority, it is never an easy task overcoming the cult hero who seemingly has an endless bag of tricks at his disposal.

Over the last 12 months, the Frenchman has enjoyed some big scalps too, including beating Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati. So, any advice on avoiding such an upset should be welcomed.

Henman stated: ‘I think when we talked about that court position on the court on return of serve, Monfils loves to play so far behind the baseline. If it is against Monfils, I think Jack can use the serve and volley a little bit because not only can it be effective but it also makes your opponent think a bit more.

‘I think if Jack were to play Monfils he has got to look to finish the point at the net when he gets the opportunity, to keep the rallies a bit shorter because Monfils loves to play those long baseline exchanges.’

Gael Monfils did the unthinkable last night on Philippe Chatrier

Monfils has made a career out of proving people wrong, and it is why, despite having never reached a Grand Slam final or won a Masters 1000-level event, he is still so revered.

A true entertainer who knows exactly how to whip up a crowd, it almost felt like it was written in the stars for him to enjoy a miraculous turnaround at his home slam.

The French Open crowd likely knew something was brewing too, and as Monfils slowly started to claw things back, the noise level increased too.

Jack Draper v Gael Monfils, H2H

He and Draper will surely share one of the event’s premier courts for their round two match, and the support for the hometown hero will likely be even more electric.

The Brit needs to ensure he kills that buzz before it gets out of hand, dealing with Monfils quickly and incisively.

Hopefully, fatigue might set in for the ageing ace, allowing the 23-year-old to cruise into the third round.

Draper’s Roland Garros draw was quite kind on paper, but it will take some effort to dump out Monfils without a fight.