Jack Draper’s next opponent at the French Open has claimed the “insane” British No.1 has the body of a UFC fighter. The world No.5 will take on Russian-born Kazakh Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
And the world No.62, who has lost both his previous matches to the 6ft 4ins Draper, said: “Jack for me is insane. I saw him first day here. I’m like, Are you getting ready for UFC? Last year the guy is 40 in the world. This year he is in the top five in the world. That’s a crazy achievement.
“He doesn’t seem to stop, so I mean, what do I have to do to beat him? I don’t know. I will just go there, enjoy the time, show what I’m capable of showing, and we all know what I’m capable of doing on court and then we see how it goes.
“This is the approach I have now, and Jack is a great sportsman, a great person. I played him in the qualies of Queen’s in 2019. He was a little kid. Then when he beat me in Queen’s in 2021,, and he told me: ‘I finally got you’.
“I said: ‘Let’s speak when you are in the top 50’, because he was like 300 in the world striking everything, and now he’s top 10. So now I have to have some courage to play, and we’ll see how it goes.
“He’s amazing. He’s, like, No. 4 in the Race to Turin. What is that? I don’t understand. That’s too good.”
