5th seed Jack Draper was in cruise control in his Monte-Carlo opener, smashing Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-1.
2025 ATP Tour
Masters 1000
Monte-Carlo Masters
Monte Carlo Country Club, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 10th April
Jack Draper (5) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Draper dominated on serve, winning 81% of his first-serve points. He hit 21 winners to 17 unforced errors in a performance that augers well going forward. Draper has enjoyed a sensational start to the year, improving to 14-3 after that Giron thrashing. Draper reached the final in Qatar before capturing the biggest title of his young career, beating the likes of Alcaraz and Fritz en route to the Indian Wells title. He failed to repeat that success in Miami, falling to eventual champ Jakub Mensik in his opening match. The big-serving lefty has not been able to crack the clay-court code as of yet (he is yet to reach a clay-court final and has underwhelmed in previous Masters events). Draper has endured nightmarish injury issues and clay taxes the body more than any other surface. Still, the US Open semifinalist continues to defy expectations and he could be on the cusp of a clay-court breakthrough.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has been in sneaky good form this year, reaching two finals to end a three-year drought where he never reached a championship match. He reached the 4th round of the Aussie Open and finished runner-up at both the Delray Beach Classic and Mexican Open. He came back from a set down against Ben Shelton in his Monte-Carlo opener and he was in complete control in his round of 32 clash, taking down the hard-hitting Tomas Etcheverry in straight sets. He was incredible from the back of the court, hitting 29 winners to just 15 unforced errors. The Spainard appears to have found some rhythm this season (he dropped out of the top 50 last year after a fairly disastrous campaign). Fokina loves these slow surfaces, reaching the quarterfinals in 2021 before finishing runner-up in 2022. However, he was eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons. The aggressive Spainard has the type of chaotic style that is prone to form fluctuations.
The Verdict: Davidovich Fokina to win in three sets at – This will be their first career meeting. I think that Davidovich Fokina’s superior clay-court ability should see him through in a tight battle. Draper is still figuring out his clay-court game and Davidovich Fokina looked in elite form against Etcheverry. Davidovich Fokina will test Draper’s physical limits with his liberal use of the drop-shot.
