Andy Roddick suggests who’s playing better tennis at the French Open out of Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic

Naturally, hype around this match built quickly, but it was a credit to Jack Draper given how easily he brushed aside Fonseca in straight sets.

This prompted Roddick to offer some sage advice for the teenager, as well as lauding the development of his 23-year-old opponent.

Andy Roddick full of praise for Jack Draper

Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former world number one could not help but be stunned by Draper’s dominant performance over the young Brazilian.

He stated: ‘Draper is a man, by the way. Like he is… everything that he’s improved on in the last year. He wasn’t ranked super high last year at this tournament, I don’t think he was seeded.

‘He’s been the third-best player in the world this year to date, and he’s looked like the third-best player in this tournament so far.’

In making this claim, Roddick effectively stated that he preferred Draper’s current form to anyone that isn’t Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, meaning Novak Djokovic, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Zverev and more are below the Brit.

He continued by highlighting his development: ‘He is built, he is ready, he looks like a future Grand Slam winner. I came into this event singing his praises for the last couple of months like everyone else has. He’s only built on that.’

This progress for the world number five is there for all to see, with Laura Robson highlighting one area of change for Draper, having watched him courtside ahead of the French Open.

Andy Roddick gives advice for Joao Fonseca

Roddick was not finished there though, and sought to provide young Fonseca with some advice going forward.

After all, he is just 18 years old, and has impressed many by going this deep in a Grand Slam already.

However, what the American offered was a cautionary tale, claiming: ‘I love Fonseca and I love the story. I love the potential. I do think we are trying to make him into a contender very early. Like you heard a lot of commentators playing footsie with him being the winner here and saying that without even having to defend that position at all and now believing fully in the potential, the upside and loving the story.

‘But you can’t skip steps. You have to build shot tolerance. You have to build defence and strategy. You have to build all these things.

‘Draper has built those over the last two years to where he is not just potential, he’s not just good sometimes, he’s pretty much good all the time now and then when he hits that next level he is dominant.

‘He was dominant against Fonseca, strategically strength-wise, his ability to accept pace to his backhand and turn it and Fonseca’s lack of ability. It’s this weird thing where the forehand is so big but there are different types of things. When people are bullying him to that forehand side, which obviously the lefty vs righty exposed some different things in Fonseca. But defending on the forehand side is not the same as going after a dead ball.

‘The ooh and aah is totally credible with Fonseca when he gets two feet under them and just rips it. I don’t know I have seen a lot of people create speed like that.

‘Defending out of the corners and shot tolerance, that is something we are going to see improve over the next one or two years.

‘When to step back on returns. Trying to take Draper’s serve on the ad side two feet inside and letting him saw you off, I’m beating a dead horse here but he finally late in the second set stood back and started taking rips on that first ball and got a break point. He didn’t end up breaking but Draper had to fight off a break point in that second set.

‘He is brilliant and then when you go up against someone who is three, four, five in the world right now it is different gravy. We can’t skip steps.’

In the end, it’s widely expected that these two will form a dominant foursome alongside Alcaraz and Sinner for years to come.