Spaniard wins mental battle to dump out Draper

Brit Jack Draper fell victim to a determined Spanish opponent wrestling  with personal demons on the way to a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 defeat of the British No. 1 on Thursday at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina needed two match points spaced 49 minutes apart to finally prevail and claim his third quarter-final spot at the prestige start of the European clay campaign.

Draper, who trailed a set and 3-1, managed to salvage a match point late in the second set tiebreaker to throw the contest into a deciding set.

But his opponent held his nerve to advance on his second winning chance as Draper meekly double-faulted.

It was not particularly smooth sailing for the winner, who earned his 17th victory of the season and is perfectly at home on clay.

“Today I didn’t feel my best tennis and my best mental strategy,” ADF said. “It was a roller-coaster with my mind.

“I thought I was playing better but my mind was telling me a lot of BS. I didn’t know how to control my emotions.

“I’m sorry how I treated my (player) box but I’m happy for the win. I’ll try and improve for tomorrow.”

The Spaniard reached the last eight with 30 winners and 57 unforced errors – 10 more than Draper, one of the six left-handers beaten by Davidovich Fokina this season.

“Jack was playing better than me,” the winner said. But I was into every point at the end.

“I managed to stay with my serve in the third set; I gave my all in the last game.”

Main photo:- Jack Draper losing to Davidivich Fokina in Monte Carlo – by ISF Ltd