Jack Draper admitted he was totally bamboozled by the maverick stylings of Corentin Moutet, but the world No5 did what top players do: he found a way to win, and will face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open.
Moutet is one of the game’s great eccentrics, and he swept through the opening set with a cocktail of drop shots, lobs and serve-volley raids.
‘I was bamboozled at the start to be honest,’ Draper told Sky Sports’ Gigi Salmon after his 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. ‘I haven’t played someone like that in…well, ever. I just felt like I was on a string, like I didn’t know what I was doing.
‘I came out in the second set, just fought for every point and found my way in the end.’
It is a cliche to describe a game-style such as Moutet’s as ‘dizzying’ – but in this instance that is literally the case.
‘I was looking at the slide marks on the clay after one game, and I was literally covering the whole court with drop and…I don’t know what was going on my brain was…I’ve got dizziness from it.
Jack Draper admitted he was totally bamboozled by the maverick stylings of Corentin Moutet
The world No5 beat Moutet and will face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open
‘I don’t know what was going on my brain was… I’ve got dizziness from it,’ Jack Draper said
‘To come through that one was amazing.’
Draper looked shattered at the end, as he has to a degree all fortnight, coming in straight after his run to the Madrid Open final. It feels more like mental than physical weariness; the weariness that comes with day after day of the rinse and repeat of train, warmup, match, warmdown.
After that first set, how easy it would have been to fade away – many players would have done so. Draper badly wants a rest but he wants the win even more.
Before the match, Sky Sports did a montage, set to a Benny Hill-type soundtrack, of Moutet’s wildest moments: demanding coffee from the umpire, snapping his racket over his knee, having to rush to his bag because his phone was going off.
There were no antics in the first set, though: just varied and highly effective tennis.
It was at 3-3 in the second set when the only moment of controversy occurred – and it was VAR related.
Moutet hit a drop shot which Draper ran down. Moutet netted his next shot and used the video review system to check whether his drop shot had bounced twice before Draper made contact.
Umpire Nico Helwerth watched the replays, broadcast on the big screen, with Moutet jabbering away at him as he tried to make his decision.
‘I was bamboozled at the start to be honest,’ he said after his 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory on Tuesday
Moutet swept through the opening set with a cocktail of drop shots, lobs and serve-volley raids
Draper mainly watched in silence, leaning on the net. He mildly remarked: ‘I think I got it up.’
He clearly did, and umpire Nico Helwerth agreed.
The decision had been made but Moutet demanded a replay of one of the angles and Helwerth foolishly granted his wish.
‘Zoom, zoom, zoom,’ cried moutet as the replay came up, like an excitable film director, but the decision stood.
Would Draper’s focus be affected by the row? He was not, and in fact the incident served to interrupt the flow of Moutet’s freeform jazz.
In the next game Moutet hit two double faults as Draper broke for 5-3. The Brit gave a huge bellow; Moutet tossed his racket into the backboard.
But in the next game Draper made a mess of a drop shot and then double faulted to go 0-40 down. He conceded the break with a truly horrific attempt at a double-handed backhand drop shot.
He came again though and broke for the set, cupping an ear to the supertennis arena crowd.
Draper beat Czech player Vít Kopřiva 6-4 6-3 in Rome to reach the last 16 against Moutet
Draper was narrowly beaten 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 by Casper Ruud in the final of the Madrid Open
Moutet then took a five minute and 30 second toilet break before a final set which promised much.
The next drop of drama came at 3-3 when Moutet began to cramp, calling for the trainer to massage his left hamstring. It was no great surprise, given he came in off a three-hour, 44-minute win against Casper Ruud.
Draper went into lockdown mode in the next game and broke with a forehand ripped up the line.
As he did in the second set, Draper wobbled when serving it out, but from 15-30 down he played four rock-solid points to take the match.
At 23-years-old, he is the youngest British man in the Open Era to reach the last eight in Rome and one more victory will see him overtake Taylor Fritz as the world No4.
That win will not come easily, of course, against Alcaraz. This will be their third meeting of the year: Draper retired after one set of their fourth-round at the Australian Open, then won in the Indian Wells semis en route to the title.
Draper has beaten Alcaraz on grass in Stuttgart and hard courts in California. Can he now beat him on clay? That is the tallest order of the lot, but if we have learned anything from this match – and this season – it is to never count Draper out.
