Draper arrives at his first Madrid final with an overwhelming rhythm | ATP Tour

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Draper arrives at his first Madrid final with an overwhelming rhythm

The Briton beat 6-3, 7-6 (4) to Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals

May 02, 2025

An hour and 57 minutes Jack Draper needed to reach his first ATP Tour final on clay, the greatest amount of time required so far in the fortnight for the British in this mutual Madrid Open.

That it has not passed until now of the two hours of play in any game, and that you have not lost sets so far, talks about its incredible level in the tournament. Not even an inspired Lorenzo Musetti, a finalist in Montecarlo a few weeks ago, could take him to a decisive in the second semifinal of the day on Friday.

“I feel that the quality of both did not go down much from the first ball,” Draper said, now with 4-0 record against Musetti at the Lexus ATP Head2head between them. “You have to recognize Lorenzo’s merit, he is obviously playing very well on whipped land. I played against him on a hard track and grass when we were junior, I grew up with him. But in whipped land, it is a monster, so getting this victory on this court and in the semifinals means a lot for me.”

The Italian signed true Puntazos before No. 6 of the PIF ATP Rankings, but did not reach him to advance to his first final in Madrid, where his best result had been third round in the past. He could only break Draper on one occasion, when he lost 0-2. For the rest, the 23-year-old left-handed was intractable to the service, even when facing a crucial break point in the 3-4 of the second partial, which erased thanks to an unpaired error of Musetti.

For something the British had reached this duel without facing Break Points in the last two rounds of the tournament. His serve was the stone in which he cemented his victory. Also his setback. Although he achieved more noticeable and fast shots with the right, from the other side combined resistance and aggressiveness.

That is why he scored more Winners with his reverse than with his right (10 against seven). And that’s why he also made more errors not forced with that shot (ten against eight), because he was more propositive on that side. Risking had his dividends, and now he is the second British in a Madrid final, and first from Andy Murray in 2016.

In addition, he is now the fourth tennis player born in this century with at least two classifications in the late ATP Masters 1000, joining Carlos Alcaraz (7), Jannik Sinner (6) and Holger Rune (4). Before March, Draper did not have any, and now with two. The champion a few months ago at Indian Wells will now look for his first clay category title.

Better way to celebrate your ascent to Top 5, impossible. On Thursday he had assured his debut among the top five of the PIF ATP Rankings by beating the Italian Matteo Arnaldi. Of course, no matter how much I win on Sunday on the final day, on Monday after the tournament will be the new No. 5 of the PIF ATP Rankings.

His next opponent will be another debutant in a final in Madrid: the Norwegian Casper Ruud, against whom he has no background. One of the two will be the twelfth different champion in the history of this event that was born in 2002.