Jack Draper makes strong start to clay-court season with convincing win at Monte Carlo Masters
Jack Draper made a superb start to his clay court season with a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 victory over Marcos Giron at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.
With his service game and forehand functioning well, the British No 1 and fifth seed spent just an hour on court as he powered past the American to secure a spot in the last 16.
Draper stamped his authority on the second-round match with two breaks in a first set he won in just under half an hour, and it was a similar story as he upped the tempo in the second.
Giron had little answer and became increasingly error-prone as Draper wrapped up a comfortable win with another break.
Draper, who received a first-round bye, said on Sky Sports: “It’s not easy conditions here sometimes and we were obviously playing later (in the day) but I feel like I have been transitioning well to the clay.
“I’ve been working hard to look for my forehand and do all the things to be effective on this surface as I have struggled a little bit in the last couple of years.
“Hopefully this year I can have a good run.”
Draper’s victory came after a shock defeat for top seed and world number two Alexander Zverev at the hands of Matteo Berrettini.
The German was beaten 2-6 6-3 7-5 as Berrettini came from behind to snatch victory and claim the biggest win of his career by ranking, in a tense final set.
The Italian Berrettini, the world number 34, failed to serve out for the match at 5-4 but broke again in the next game, with one forehand winner coming after a remarkable 48-shot rally. He then made no mistake in his next service game, completing victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
The three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas beat the Australian Jordan Thompson 4-6 6-4 6-2.
In one of the remaining first-round matches, former world number three Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria beat Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4.
PA
