Jack Draper has officially guaranteed himself a spot in the world’s top five after a dominant display at the Madrid Open. The British No. 1 needed just an hour and 17 minutes to breeze past Matteo Arnaldi, the unseeded Italian who stunned Novak Djokovic, 6-0 6-4.
At No. 6 in the world, Draper is the highest-ranked man left in the draw, and he finds himself two wins away from picking up his second Masters 1000 title of the season. The 23-year-old has yet to drop a set at the Caja Magica this fortnight and seems to be getting better with every match.
Draper made an impression when he demolished 11th seed Tommy Paul 6-2 6-2 in the previous round, and he picked up exactly where he left off when he took to the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium to face world No. 44 Arnaldi in the quarters.
The Brit raced through the opening set, bagelling Arnaldi in just 25 minutes and dropping 10 points across all six games.
The Italian stepped it up in set two but he still failed to trouble Draper and didn’t create a single break point opportunity throughout the match, while one break was all the fifth seed needed to advance to the semi-final.
With his latest victory, Draper will now make his top-five debut when the rankings update on Monday, overtaking Djokovic for the No. 5 spot.
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