Jack Draper’s clay-court inexperience was exposed by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the unpredictable Spaniard who eliminated him from the third round of Monte-Carlo.
In an exhausting and see-sawing three-setter, Draper never quite located the rhythm that had made him one of the three or four best performers on the ATP Tour this season.
His first serve failed to make its usual impact, landing only 48 per cent of the time. And there were also ten double-faults, including the one that concluded Davidovich Fokina’s 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4 victory in two hours and 46 minutes.
Draper’s general naivety on the clay could be seen in his muddled tactical approach, for he never established any reliable patterns of play.