British No 1 Jack Draper admitted that “I get out of bed and I feel so angry some days” after smashing his racket in dramatic style during his 6-4, 6-3 win over Czech clay-court specialist Vit Kopriva.
After the way Draper has played in recent months, this latest victory – which earned him a crack at Corentin Moutet in Rome’s last 16 – actually felt like something of a disappointment.
Draper certainly seemed unhappy with his own performance, which saw his forehand cough up a concerning tally of 24 unforced errors. While it is hardly unusual for players to smash rackets, few tend to do so when leading by a set and a break.
Yet it is revealing that everyone – including the man himself – should expect so much from Draper. You could see it as a reflection of how brilliantly and consistently he has been performing. The last time he lost to a man ranked as low as Kopriva, the world No 92, was almost a year ago at the French Open.
In that time, he has revolutionised his own game and learned how to dominate run-of-the-mill opponents like Kopriva. His frustration on Sunday was that he could not finish the job more quickly – and that in turn stemmed from a wasteful day on break points. Draper won only three of 13 break-point opportunities, which allowed Kopriva to keep him out in the Rome sunshine for an hour and 41 minutes.
“I was a bit flat today,” said Draper in one of his courtside interviews. “It’s tough. I’m human. I’ve been mentally and physically on for the last three weeks. They’re not easy now, these two-week Masters events, especially if you go deep. On the days when you’re tired it’s really tough to stay there mentally on every point. I got a bit frustrated today. I don’t condone it. But I did well to come through.”
In a separate chat with Sky Sports’ Gigi Salmon, Draper spoke more about his exhaustion. “When I get out of bed I feel so angry some days. And, you know, I’ve got to play a tennis match and I’ve got to lose points, so I’ve got to go through those emotional ups and downs.
“I’m in a new position now. My ranking’s obviously going up, and I’m getting to compete week in, week out, and play lots of matches. And that’s taken some getting used to from the mental and physical side. I want to keep going, but yeah, it’s sometimes difficult to always be perfect.”
Salmon then asked him about Moutet, another left-hander, and a man with a volcanic temperament. “I kind of looked up to him when I was younger, because I think he won Tarbes,” Draper replied, in relation to one of the most prestigious tournaments on the junior tour.
“I think he’s always been quite flarey,” added Draper, presumably referring to Moutet’s tendency to flare up with anger when something unexpected happens on the court. “I think he brings a lot to tennis, to be honest. Every time I watch him, it’s an interesting match. So I look forward to that battle.”
04:53 PM BST
‘I’m still getting used to playing a lot of tennis’
04:50 PM BST
Draper will face Corentin Moutet next
04:46 PM BST
‘It was a tough match’
Draper speaking to TennisTV: “It was a tough match, someone who’s come through qualifying, playing good tennis. I haven’t seen much of him around but he had a great win against [Sebastian] Baez in the last round so I knew it would be a tough match.
“I was trying to get my energy up at the start, I was a bit flat today but I thought I did a really good job of competing hard throughout the match. He definitely came out fighting in that second set so I’m proud of the way I came through.”
04:38 PM BST
100 wins on the ATP Tour
04:36 PM BST
Game, set and match: Draper!
Kopriva, serving to stay in the match, starts the game with another cracking backhand winner. The Czech then does the same on the forehand wing to go 30-0 up.
Draper then gets on the board with a heavy forehand down the line of his own before levelling things up at 30-30 after drawing an error from Kopriva from the baseline.
A deep return brings up match point for Draper and the Briton goes long with the return. Deuce. Kopriva gets to advantage before falling back to deuce after double faulting.
Advantage Draper after a Kopriva error. The ball takes a bad bounce after landing in one of the holes the Briton created earlier in this set. But on his third match point, Draper gets it done as Kopriva forehand flies wide.
04:27 PM BST
Draper* 6-4 5-3 Kopriva
Draper wins the opening point before Kopriva gets to 15-15 with a backhand-cross winner.
Draper then draws an error from the Czech to go 30-15 up and then 40-15 after some more solid play from the back of the court. The Briton then shanks a forehand as Kopriva gets to 40-30 but Draper holds as Kopriva nets a return.
04:22 PM BST
Draper 6-4 4-3 Kopriva*
Kopriva races to 40-0 lead and eventually holds to love after hanging tough in a drawn out rally with the Briton.
04:20 PM BST
Draper* 6-4 4-2 Kopriva
Kopriva, with a spring in his step, wins the opening point after putting away a Draper drop shot.
The Briton then double faults to fall 0-30 behind, and then 0-40 as Kopriva cracks a backhand back in behind Draper.
Draper saves the first break point with a winner from the baseline, and the second as Kopriva goes wide with a backhand. A brilliant serve out wide gets Draper to deuce.
Kopriva nets a backhand that sees Draper get to game point and the Briton holds in style with a drop shot to finish.
04:13 PM BST
Draper 6-4 3-2 Kopriva*
Draper comes out on top after a 12-shot rally to go ahead 0-15. The Briton then hits a forehand error as Kopriva gets to 15-15. The Czech goes ahead as Draper sprays a backhand wide. An improvised forehand volley gets Draper to 30-30 and then 30-40 after a forehand winner down the line, while on the run.
The Briton then nets a backhand as Kopriva gets to deuce. Kopriva Double fault gets Draper to advantage... and Briton goes long with the return. Back to deuce. Break point No 4 comes Draper’s way but he is unable to take it as he nets a backhand. Break point No 5! Kopriva saves it as Draper goes long with a forehand. Advantage Kopriva and the Czech holds.
Draper smashed his racket at the conclusion of that game which drew some boos from the crowd.
04:03 PM BST
Draper* 6-4 3-1 Kopriva
Draper wins the opening two points with two different winners, first from the baseline and second at the net after showing good hands. The Briton gets to 40-0 as Kopriva nets a return.
Draper then throws down an ace to close out the game to love.
03:58 PM BST
Draper 6-4 2-1 Kopriva*
Kopriva wins the opening point after a three-shot exchange. The Czech then draws an error from Draper to go 30-0 up before the Briton gets to 30-15 as Kopriva this time throws in groundstroke error of his own. The Czech wins the next exhange to bring up two game points.
Draper saves the first with a forehand winner but nets a backhand on the next as Kopriva holds to get on the board in this second set.
03:54 PM BST
Draper* 6-4 2-0 Kopriva
Draper races to 30-0 lead before seeing a Kopriva return fly long to go 40-0 up.
The Briton closes out the game with a quality forehand strike down the line to consolidate the break.
03:51 PM BST
Second set: Draper 6-4 1-0 Kopriva*
Kopriva wins the opening point as Draper pushes a backhand long from the baseline. The Czech gets to 30-0 after Draper goes long with another groundstroke, this time on the forehand wing.
Draper wins the next to points, Kopriva double faulting on the last. An excellent forehand pass, on the slide, brings up break point for Draper. Kopriva saves it as Draper goes long with a forehand down the line. Kopriva gets to advantage after some good net play but Draper gets back to deuce after some good scrambling.
Advantage Draper as Kopriva nets a short backhand and we go back to deuce as the skids through on Draper on the baseline. The Briton wins the next point to bring up his third break opportunity and Kopriva saves it after mammoth 27-shot rally.
Draper then nets a backhand as Kopriva gets to advantage. Another long rally sees Draper come out on top, back to deuce. Kopriva double faults and on his fourth break point, the Briton breaks at the start of this second set.
03:34 PM BST
Draper wins the opening set 6-4!
Draper, serving for the first set, goes wide with forehand to fall 0-15 behind. The Briton levels things up after finding a big first serve. Kopriva nets short ball on the backhand wing as Draper gets to 30-15.
A double fault gets Kopriva to 30-30 before Kopriva sneaks ahead as Draper sprays a forehand wide.
Draper saves break point and then grinds down Kopriva at deuce before closing out the game and the first set!
03:27 PM BST
Draper 5-4 Kopriva*
Kopriva wins the opening point as Draper hits his return out. The Briton then nets a forehand as Kopriva goes 30-0 up.
The Czech gets to 40-0 as Draper goes long with a forehand and Kopriva holds after holding strong in drawn out rally.
03:24 PM BST
Draper* 5-3 Kopriva
Kopriva gets on the board first after drawing an error from Draper. The Briton levels things up at 15-15 as Kopriva goes long with a return. The Czech goes up 15-30 after another Draper error before going long with another return to go 30-30.
Draper then puts away a short forehand to go 40-30 and eventually holds to consolidate the break.
03:18 PM BST
Draper 4-3 Kopriva*
Draper wins the opening point after a heavy return puts Kopriva in all sorts of trouble. The Czech levels up before a Draper drop shot puts the Briton 15-30 ahead.
Another well-executed drop shot gets Draper to 15-40 and the Briton breaks!
03:14 PM BST
Draper* 3-3 Kopriva
Draper wins the opening point as Kopriva goes long with a return. The Briton then gets to 30-0 after Kopriva goes long with a forehand on the slide.
Another short exchange sees Draper come out on top and the Briton holds again to love.
03:11 PM BST
Draper 2-3 Kopriva*
Lovely drop shot on the backhand wing sees Kopriva win the opening point.
Draper levels things up as the Czech nets a forehand from the baseline. The Briton then gets to 15-30 as Kopriva nets a backhand. Draper then goes long with a forehand before Kopriva sprays one of his own long to bring up a break point for the Briton. Draper puts too much on a forehand down the line as Kopriva gets to deuce and then advantage as Draper hits another forehand error.
Kopriva holds as Draper nets a return.
03:05 PM BST
Draper* 2-2 Kopriva
Draper races to 30-0 lead after combination of two Kopriva errors. The Briton gets to 40-0 after a six-shot rally before Kopriva wins his first point on Draper’s serve to get to 40-15.
The Briton then throws down an ace to close out the game.
03:01 PM BST
Draper 1-2 Kopriva*
Kopriva gets on the board first with a heavy forehand of his own before drawing two Draper errors from the baseline.
The Briton gets on the board with a forehand winner down the line before good body serve leads to Kopriva seeing out the game with a hold to 15.
02:58 PM BST
Draper* 1-1 Kopriva
Draper races to 30-0 lead after some big serving sets up to quick points.
The Briton then gets to 40-0 and closes out the game with a heavy forehand down the line.
02:56 PM BST
First set: Jack Draper 0-1 Vit Kopriva* (*denotes server)
Kopriva goes long from the baseline to fall 0-15 behind before levelling things up and then going 30-15 ahead after a second Draper error. The Czech then comes out on top of an extended baseline exchange to go 40-15 up and closes out the game to get on the board first.
02:48 PM BST
Coin toss
Draper won the toss and has elected to receive.
02:39 PM BST
World No 5 faces a qualifier in Rome
Good afternoon and welcome to coverage of Jack Draper versus qualifier Vit Kopriva in the third round of the Italian Open.
Draper silenced the Italian crowd in his opening encounter on Friday, beating home favourite Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-4 in 78 minutes. The fifth seed, who had a first-round bye, looked like he had picked up from where he left off in Madrid, racing through the first set in 24 minutes after breaking the Italian three times. The Briton was made to work a little harder in the second set however but managed to see out the match in straights.
Speaking after, Draper said: “I think I came out really well. I think mentally I knew it was going to be a little bit difficult and I’m glad about how I played in certain moments. I think I needed a match here to feel like I was strong again and I just think it was a really good mental performance today.”
The British No 1 is currently one of the most in-form players on the ATP Tour following his Indian Wells title in March and his runner-up showing in Madrid last month. Kopriva has played most of his tennis on the Challenger circuit this year and won a title on clay, in Naples in March. Ironically, the 27-year-old Czech beat Darderi in that final.
Kopriva also made it to the quarter-finals in Marrakech, an ATP 250, last month. In Rome, the world No 92 had to come through qualifying which means he has a total of four matches under his belt coming into this contest with Draper.
The pair met last year in Munich on the clay and that went the way of the Briton in three sets. That was their only meeting on the ATP Tour.