Tennis
Jack Draper battled past Tallon Griekspoor in the opening round of the Madrid Open; Novak Djokovic suffered a 6-3 6-4 loss to Matteo Arnaldi; watch all the action from the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, NOW and the Sky Sports app
Sunday 27 April 2025 00:24, UK
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British No 1 Jack Draper stepped up his Roland Garros preparations by easing safely through to the third round against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor at the Madrid Open.
Draper, seeded fifth, bounced back from his disappointing defeat by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Monte Carlo with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
The 23-year-old broke to lead 4-2 on his way to taking the first set in just over half an hour, and an early break put him in control of the second on his way to victory in an hour and 15 minutes. He will meet former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in round three.
“I am still relatively new to the clay,’ he told Sky Sports.
“I used my forehand really well, my backhand was solid. Everything was ticking over nicely.
“Obviously I am in a different position now and that feels great. But in tennis you’ve got to forget about the last week, the last two weeks, you’ve got to prove yourself today.
“I don’t really think about that, I just try to keep working hard, listening to my coach, doing all the right things.”
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Fellow Brits Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are also through to the next round of the Madrid Open, Norrie with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Jiri Lehecka and Fearnley with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Tomas Machac.
Novak Djokovic lost to Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match of the Madrid Open on Saturday, extending the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s struggles on clay ahead of Roland Garros.
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Arnaldi won 6-3, 6-4, delaying Djokovic’s search for a career 100th title. The Serb was undermined by 32 unforced errors.
“Kind of a new reality for me, I have to say,” he said.
“Trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament – it’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis.
“It’s a challenge for me mentally to really face these kinds of sensations on the court, going out early now regularly in tournaments.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic has lost three matches in a row; the Miami final and his opener to Alejandro Tabilo at the Monte Carlo Masters two weeks ago preceding his loss to Arnaldi.
Arnaldi will next face Damir Dzumhur after he rallied past Sebastian Baez 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Elsewhere, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva reached the last 16 for the third straight year by defeating Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, ranked No 7, has yet to lose before the fourth round in Madrid.
Andreeva, who will turn 18 on Tuesday, will next face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva, who defeated 18th-seed Liudmila Samsonova in three sets.
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