Draper Praises Moutet: "He Frustrates His Opponents, It's One of His Qualities"

Jack Draper advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters 1000. Despite a shaky start, the Brit showed why he’s a top-5 player for a reason.

Wearing down his opponent, the Indian Wells champion from earlier this season eventually turned the match around against Corentin Moutet (1-6, 6-4, 6-3) and will now face Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the semifinals.

After the match, Draper reflected on his opponent, whom he faced for the first time on the ATP Tour, and confirmed that Moutet is a tricky player to handle on clay.

"I don’t think I’ve played many players like him before today. I felt weird right from the start. I started well, but as the match progressed, I felt very uncomfortable.

"I didn’t really know what to do. The first set kind of slipped away from me. In the second set, I started from scratch. I knew I had to change a few things tactically, like being present on every point, because I knew his level wouldn’t drop.

"I’m really happy with how I solved the problem. I think I can learn a lot from this match. He frustrates his opponents—it’s one of his qualities. There aren’t many like him.

"His drop shots are incredible. Especially on this surface, where he feels most comfortable. Tactically, I think he had a very clear game plan from the beginning. He moved really well on his backhand.

"He started coming to the net a lot more. I was a bit surprised by his game. At this stage of my career, it’s important to win matches like the one I had today," Draper explained to *Punto De Break*.