Just under a week after pulling off the greatest achievement of his career so far, the next task for Jack Draper was to cast all thoughts of his sublime Indian Wells title run to the back of his mind while maintaining the form that had taken his tennis to new heights.
Performing at the highest level week after week regardless of circumstances and conditions remains one of the toughest challenges in professional tennis and on Saturday it proved a step too far. Draper fell back to earth with an unsatisfying 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) defeat to the 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic in the second round of the Miami Open.
Draper’s Indian Wells title run had begun with him demonstrating his experience against the 18-year-old João Fonseca, the youngest player in the ATP top 100. This time, he was unable to escape another difficult draw against an extremely talented teenager. Mensik, who is ranked No 54, saw off Draper, the sixth seed, with an incredible serving performance that yielded 21 aces.
For a short while, Draper seemed to have picked up where he left off from last Sunday’s demolition of Holger Rune in Indian Wells as he burst into the match lasering forehands and serving efficiently.
However, as Mensik warmed into the match, showing off his own potent serve and forehand, Draper’s intensity sharply dropped. He spent much of the set audibly fighting with himself as he tried to reestablish his intensity and range on his groundstrokes. As Draper took those issues into the tie-break, Mensik served immaculately to snatch the set.
The second set followed a similar pattern as Draper was a step behind throughout. It took a significant effort from the British No 1 to hold on to his serve and save six break points throughout the set while Mensik rolled through most of his own games. The one-sided tie-break was a logical conclusion to a deceptively one-sided set.
Draper will leave Miami frustrated in his inability to maintain the momentum he built in Indian Wells, but a mental and physical letdown after such a breakthrough was always a possibility. With the humidity in Miami making for heavier balls and different conditions, the transition to Miami is challenging in many ways. For Draper, this should be a valuable lesson as he aims to perform at the highest level on a consistent basis.
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Meanwhile, Jacob Fearnley’s positive week in Miami came to an end in the second round as he was outclassed by an excellent Alexander Zverev, the top seed, who opened his tournament with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win. Fearnley had reached the second round by navigating the qualifying draw before registering the second-best win of his career by ranking against the No 63 Benjamin Bonzi in the first round. He will rise to a new career high ranking inside the top 75 and leapfrog Cameron Norrie as the new British No 2.
