ATP French Open – Jack Draper vs Mattia Bellucci
🧠 Form & Context
Jack Draper
🔥 Breakout on clay: Nearly captured the Madrid Masters title and enters Paris with a 9–3 record this clay season — his best run on the surface.
🧱 Past struggles at RG: Suffered first-round losses in 2023 (Etcheverry) and 2024 (De Jong), but arrives in far better form.
💪 Slam-tested: Semifinalist at the 2024 US Open and survived three five-setters at the 2025 Australian Open — fitness no longer a question mark.
📈 Confidence surge: Ranked No. 5 in the world and playing with the poise of a top-tier contender, regardless of surface.
Mattia Bellucci
🎯 Hard court success: Semifinalist in Rotterdam and quarterfinalist in Marrakech were key 2025 highlights.
📉 Cold spell: Comes into Roland-Garros on a five-match losing streak on clay, struggling to find rhythm.
🏛️ Slam underdog: 1–3 in first-round Slam matches, but has been competitive — taking sets off Shelton, Tiafoe, and Bonzi.
🧱 Clay roots: Built his game on clay, but hasn’t translated that into ATP wins yet.
🔍 Match Breakdown
Draper’s game is evolving. Always dangerous on faster courts, he’s now adapted to clay with improved sliding, stamina, and point construction. His Madrid run proved he can dictate on dirt and hang with the best in longer rallies.
Bellucci is a gutsy competitor with solid rally skills and a decent serve, but his confidence is fragile right now. He’s shown he can push higher-ranked players, yet his inability to close out tight sets has cost him—and that could be fatal against someone as physically imposing as Draper.
Unless Draper’s level dips sharply or Bellucci rediscovers form from nowhere, the Brit’s superior fitness, confidence, and lefty firepower should carry him through comfortably—even on a historically tricky surface for him.
🔮 Prediction
Bellucci might steal a set with some clean shot-making and home-run returns, but Draper’s composure and clay-season momentum should secure his first Roland-Garros main-draw win.
Prediction: Jack Draper in four sets — a composed breakthrough on Parisian clay 🇬🇧🎾
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