Jack Draper’s next opponent isn’t high on his chances of derailing the British No 1 amid his French Open charge. But he will try.
Alexander Bublik awaits in the fourth round for Draper on Monday after the fifth-seeded Brit outclassed Brazilian rising star João Fonseca in straight sets.
World No 62 Bublik is meanwhile coming off a straight sets victory over Henrique Rocha, with a quarter-final matchup against top-ranked Jannik Sinner potentially on the line.
“Jack for me is insane. I mean, last year the guy is 40 in the world. This year he is top five in the world,” said Bublik.
“That’s a crazy achievement. He doesn’t seem to stop, so I mean, what do I have to do to beat him? I don’t know.
“I will just go there, enjoy the time, show what I’m capable of showing, and we all know what I’m capable of doing on court and then we see how it goes.
“This is the approach I have now, and Jack is a great sportsman, great person.”
Draper is enjoying the best year of his professional career yet after clinching his first ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells before reaching the final of the Madrid Open.
His best performance at a Grand Slam to date came last season when he reached the semi-finals of the US Open, where he was beaten by eventual champion Sinner.
Draper and Bublik have met twice on the ATP Tour, the former emerging victorious at both Queen’s Club in 2021 and in Adelaide in 2024.
“I know him since I played him in the qualifiers of Queen’s in 2018 or something (a three-set win for Bublik in 2019). He was a little kid,” Bublik continued.
“Then when he beat me in Queen’s, and he told me ‘I finally got you’. I said ‘let’s speak when you’re in the top 50’, because he was like 300 in the world, and now he’s top five.
“So now I have to have some courage to play, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Draper is joined in the fourth round by fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in the wake of his victory over compatriot Jacob Fearnley.
He will now face 24-time men’s singles major champion Novak Djokovic.
“To make the second week for the first time is so, so good and at a time where I was not really stringing a lot of matches and a lot of wins together,” said Norrie.
“I was able to build from the momentum that I’ve really struggled to get from the last year and a half, for different reasons.
“So I think it was really fun and a really good week so far, and there’s still plenty of tennis to be played, which I’m excited for.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW.
