As 15,000 tennis fans cheered on his demise in the late hours of Thursday night, for a sustained period of time Jack Draper looked completely frazzled. He found himself playing a few too many drop shots, bailing out 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 the effect of his magnetic personality draws his home crowd into a frenzy and his singular playing style plays tricks with any 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 somehow finding his way through to the third round of the French Open with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Monfils. “No offence taken,” Draper told the crowd afterwards. “This is why I play tennis, to play in front of big crowds, to play in front of crowds, whether they are with me or against me. That’s the entertainment of tennis, so this is why I play. “My brain was fried out here. 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. I think the players love to watch him play as well, but not to play against him.” This story will be updated
Author: Tumaini Carayol at Roland Garros