Jack Draper proved he is a man for all surfaces and all seasons, overpowering Lorenzo Musetti to reach his first clay court final at the Madrid Open.
He is yet to drop a set this week and when he faces Norway’s Casper Ruud on Sunday he will attempt to become the first British player to win this title since Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal in 2015.
After his victory in Indian Wells this is Draper’s second Masters 1000 final of the year and if he can take down No 14 seed Ruud he will have four ATP titles – one on clay to go with one on grass, one on hard and one indoor.
Draper has talked this week of being a bully on court, and here he took one of the form players on clay and stole his lunch money, winning 6-3, 7-6.
From looking like a relative novice on the red dirt last season, Draper’s rate of improvement has been sensational. The same can be said, to a lesser degree, of Musetti, who will enter the world’s top 10 as Draper cracks the top five on Monday.
‘It felt like a key moment every point,’ said Draper. ‘I thought the level was really high from both of us. I’ve played Lorenzo all throughout the juniors and it’s always been tough battles. It was a really good challenge today and shows how far we have both come.’
Jack Draper overcame Lorenzo Musetti in a high-quality semi-final on Friday night
The Brit is into the Madrid Open final and is just one match away from his first clay court title
It was a big win for Draper, who is also set to enter the world top five next week
Both 23 years old, these two will doubtless face each other many more times and on this evidence Draper will not mind that: he has now beaten Musetti in all four senior meetings without dropping a set.
This was their first meeting on clay and there was reason to believe things would be difficult for Draper. Musetti has been on terrific form, reaching the final in Monte Carlo, and was the first truly elite clay courter Draper has faced this week.
Musetti is a fan favourite, and not just because he is a dead ringer for Hollywood heartthrob Timothee Chalamet. With one of the few single-handed backhands left at the top of the game, he operates with effortless grace – the kind of player who would have thrived in the days of starched shirts and wooden rackets.
But today’s rackets are forged of graphite and carbon; the modern game rewards power above all and Draper simply had too much of that for Musetti.
It felt like Musetti required something outlandish – a drop-shot lob combination, a winner on the run – to win points, while Draper was operating snuggly in his comfort zone.
Initially Musetti looked happy enough to be the more defensive of the two – not always a problem on clay but the altitude of Madrid makes the ball fly faster and that rewards offensive play.
There were break points in each of the first four games and Draper emerged from that skirmish with a 3-1 lead. Musetti fashioned a few opportunities but more often than not the response was a booming Draper serve.
On his third set point Draper converted and immediately changed a shirt that was dripping in sweat.
Musetti had his moments and pushed Draper to a tie-break in the second set
But it was Draper who held his nerve, and he is yet to drop a set all week in Madrid
Musetti, meanwhile, was chattering away to his coaches almost from the first point of the match and they urged him to play with more aggression. Belatedly the Tuscan did so and the result was a tight and highly watchable second set.
As we crept towards a tiebreak, Draper began to look a little leggy for the first time. An advantage of Musetti’s languid style is that it takes less out of the body, certainly compared with Draper’s heavyweight slugging. One would have feared for the British player physically if this had gone to a deciding set.
But he summoned up his reserves of energy and on his first match point he chased down one more Musetti drop shot and whipped it cross court for a winner.
‘I was just trying to stay present,’ said Draper of those tense final moments. ‘I was going a little going a little bit passive and so I did a great job, especially in the end, changing tactically and just trying to be offensive. Both of us competed and battled so hard. I’m so proud of that.’
