Jack Draper ralliied from losing the first set to beat Mattia Bellucci 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2 in 2 hours and 25 minutes under the Court Suzanne Lenglen roof at Roland Garros, which was closed due to rain.
Draper broke five times across the second, third and fourth sets. The British player improved to 10-3 on clay this season. He reached his first Masters 1000 final in Madrid and the quarter final in Rome. He is currently ranked world number 4 in the ATP Ranking.
Bellucci earned his first break at 30 in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. The Italian converted his third break in a 16 point sixth game to take a 5-1 lead. Draper pulled one break back in the seventh game as Bellucci was serving for the set. Draper held serve to reduce his deficit to 3-5 and went up 0-40 on Bellucci’s serve, but the Italian player saved three break points. Bellucci did not convert two set points in the ninth game. He had to save a break point but he closed out the first set on his third opportunity.
Draper broke serve at 30 in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead. Bellucci held serve at love in the fourth game. Draper earned a double break at 15 in the sixth game to win the second set 6-1 after 27 minutes.
Draper converted his third break point in the third game of the third set. Draper earned a break-back point at 30-40, but Draper won three consecutive points to hold serve for 4-2. Bellucci saved a set point on serve in the ninth game, but Draper served out the third set with a hold at 15.
Bellucci went down 30-40 to face a break point in the third game of the fourth set. Draper broke twice in the fifth game at love and in the seventh game at 30 and sealed the fourth set 6-2 on his first match point.
Draper is currently 2-0 in his head-to-head matches against Bellucci.
Draper set up a second round match against Gael Monfils, who came back from two sets down to beat Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6 3-6 6-1 7-7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in. epic five match.
Before today’s match Draper had not won a match at Roland Garros yet in his previous two appearances at this tournament.
“I think Bellucci came out and played really aggressive from the start. He was coming out with some amazing shots, caught me a little bit off guard. I served a couple of double faults, which doesn’t help at this level where everyone plays incredible tennis. The margins are so small”, said Draper.
Joao Fonseca beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 6-2 om his debut at Roland Garros to become the second youngest match winner at Roland Garros in the past 10 years, only behind a 18-year-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in 2021. Hurkacz lost to Novak Djokovic in the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva.
Fonseca will face Pierre Hugues Herbert in he second round.
“I played really well, focusing a lot on the returns and serves. I knew a lot of great serves were going to come and I was just focusing on putting the first return [in], the plus one, the return plus-one, put it in the middle and try to be as aggressive as I can. Try to focus on opportunities, go to the net, and try to be aggressive when I can”, said Fonseca.
