Jack Draper will be bitterly disappointed after failing to reach the French Open quarter-finals.
The Brit was on his best run of his career at the clay court Grand Slam and he had a golden opportunity to reach the last eight for the first time.
The 23-year-old faced Alexander Bublik in the round of 16, who was also looking to make his first Roland Garros quarter-final.
He took full advantage as Bubilk stunned Draper with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory, leaving the world number five to think about what might have been.
Mark Petchey suggests the challenge Jack Draper will now face at Grand Slam events
Jack Draper has made great strides forward in his career over the past year.
He has broken into the world’s top five, won two titles and reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the 2024 US Open.
Draper has shown he has the talent and mental fortitude to win a major, but there are plenty of challenges he will face on his quest to do so, one of which was pointed out by Mark Petchey.
“The transition will happen pretty quickly for Jack but the one thing that sticks out is that Grand Slams are so difficult to win,” said Petchey, the coach of Emma Raducanu.
“Not because you have to go through two weeks with the weather changes, you got seven opponents who can light it up against you and they come with different tools, they come with different weapons, they come with different strategies.
“When you see the dominance that Alcaraz has been doing, what Jannik has been doing, and obviously what the ‘Big Four’ did, you sit there and you’re amazed because on those days when Bublik lights things up, often they find a way to win and that’s going to be the big challenge for Jack through his career.
“We want to build him up, we’re super excited for him, but there are 128 players in the draw who have some incredible skills.”
Jack Draper reacts to his four-set defeat at the French Open
Draper had no answer to the brilliance of Bublik, who fired 68 winners throughout the contest.
Though Draper took the first set Bublik came storming back and he found himself powerless to stop the Kazakh player’s onslaught.
He missed hardly any [drop shots],” Draper said. “They were all incredibly good. It’s tough, because you know that’s coming, but yet he can unload on the forehand as well. You just don’t know what to do.”
He added: “I’m hurt, and for sure I’m really disappointed. I had an opportunity today, and I missed my opportunity, for sure. I struggle to put things in perspective, but I think I am proud of the effort I’ve done on the clay.
“I think I’ve really improved. I think last year I was leaving here, first-round loss, being 40 in the world and very disappointed with my tennis and not sure, you know, where I was going with it. This year I’m leaving No 5 in the world.”
