Italian Open: Jack Draper in Rome after short Madrid Open final turnaround

Success brings vast rewards, but also challenges.

Towards the end of last year, Draper spoke openly about the difficulties of short turnarounds and the “mental” calendar for the top players.

He made those comments while representing his nation in the Davis Cup in Manchester just a week after he played in the US Open semi-finals in New York.

In Madrid, Draper played four matches in four days to reach the final and is now hoping to make an impact on the Italian clay – another ATP Masters tournament which forms a key part of the French Open build-up.

Extending the Madrid and Rome tournaments to 12 days has brought criticism, although it is cases like these – allowing players reaching the weekend more recovery time – which were cited as a key reason behind the move.

After Indian Wells, however, the 23-year-old Englishman lost his first match in Miami, which was played six days after he had won his first Masters 1,000 title.

Draper feels confident he can thrive on the clay courts of Rome and Roland Garros, where conditions are slower than in Madrid.

“Let’s see, let’s see,” he said.

“I’m confident that I’m playing some really good tennis, on any surface, any conditions, and I think that if I do all the right things I’m going to be a tough guy to beat.

“After Monte Carlo I was hoping for a bit of a clay breakthrough, because I know what I’m bringing in practice, but there I really struggled and so going into Madrid I was a bit apprehensive.

“I was hurting and gutted with the final, the way it went in the end, but overall I’m really proud of the couple of weeks I had there.”