Published On: Thu, May 1st, 2025

Jack Draper into top five in world after imperious quarter-final victory in Madrid

Jack Draper was simply too much for Matteo Arnaldi to handle
Jack Draper was simply too much for Matteo Arnaldi to handle – Reuters/Isabel Infantes

Jack Draper continued to saunter his way through the Madrid Open field, as he dismissed Matteo Arnaldi by a 6-0, 6-4 scoreline to ease into the semi-finals.

Whatever happens from here, Draper’s victory will carry him into the world’s top five for the first time on Monday, leapfrogging the struggling Novak Djokovic.

While Draper has been playing eye-catching tennis all week, this was his best showing so far. He finished with strong statistics – 17 winners to place against 15 unforced errors – while the unfortunate Arnaldi was left gesturing at his coaches in frustration.

Draper thus became the first British player to reach the semi-finals of Madrid since Andy Murray – a close friend and mentor – in 2016. The two players have contrasting methods, with Murray being a tactical mastermind and ingenious point constructor.

It would be unfair to call Draper a one-trick pony, because his wide-ranging skills include reliable defensive slices, deft drop shots and penetrative volleys. But at the moment he is hitting the ball so well that he can play route-one tennis, deploying the out-and-out power of his lefty serve and forehand.

During his post-match interview with the Sky Sports punditry panel, Draper was asked about the quality of that forehand: has he upgraded it technically or is it simply a case of fully committing to the shot?

A bit of both, Draper replied. “The backhand is a shot I can hit with my eyes closed,” he said. “Because I’m right-handed, that’s always come quite naturally to me. But the forehand has taken a lot of work.

“The first two years we [Draper and coach James Trotman] started working together, we were doing a lot of things technically on it to try and get the ball out in front. I was always hitting the ball late and short and stuff like that. As things have progressed, and I’ve gotten more confident, I’ve just believed in the shot a lot more. As the levels go up, you’ve got to have no fear. You see [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner and they go after every ball.”

There is more to Draper’s recent form than simply muscle, however. He is not only attacking brilliantly but also defending with enormous grit and resilience. The improvement in his movement over the past year has been breathtaking. When he has to sprint from one flank of the court to the other, he covers the ground in three giant strides.

Jack Draper's forehand is doing serous damage on the clay
Draper’s forehand is doing serious damage on the clay – Getty Images/Alberto Gardin

All these improvements have underpinned Draper’s dominant form in Madrid, where he has won seven out of seven sets to date. He is hitting the ball so hard that his opponents are having to retreat yards behind the baseline. And the altitude – Madrid stands at around 650 metres above sea level – only adds to the speed with which his shots are flying through the thin air.

As the highest remaining seed, Draper is now in pole position for the final rounds of this event, although he will clearly face more challenging opposition than the relatively underpowered Arnaldi. He is gunning for his second Masters 1000 title in seven weeks, after winning Indian Wells in mid-March.

Much work is left to do, however. Draper’s semi-final opponent will probably be another Italian, in Lorenzo Musetti, who is also on an excellent run of form after reaching the final of Monte Carlo almost three weeks ago. The other side of the draw features Casper Ruud, a two-time finalist at the French Open.

Asked whether he is in the famous “zone” – the ultimate goal for any tennis player – Draper shook his head and replied: “I think I’m just well prepared. I’ve worked really hard every single day to do all the right things off the court, on the court. When I go out there on a match court, I have a feeling that it’s going to be OK because I’ve prepared so well.

“Look, you have your off days. I had an off day in Monte Carlo [where he lost to the dangerous Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three sets], but I haven’t had one for a while. I’m just going to keep on trying to compete hard, keep on doing my thing, and hopefully I can put more performances on the board.”

06:26 PM BST

Draper becomes the second lefty to crack the top 5

06:14 PM BST

Draper overtakes Djokovic

06:13 PM BST

‘Proud of the way I competed out there today’

Draper speaking to Tennis TV: “I felt confident from the first ball. I’ve been building my level so far, the last week or so, and to come out here with that intensity I was really happy with that. 

“The second set I maybe dipped off here and there a little bit, and was less clinical, but it’s tough to play at the standard for the whole match. Credit to Matteo, he made my life difficult in that second set. But yeah, just proud of the way I competed out there today.”

Jack Draper in action at the Madrid Open

06:06 PM BST

Musetti or Diallo up next for Draper

Draper, now up to world No 5 in the live rankings, awaits the winner of the match between 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti and lucky loser Gabriel Diallo.

06:03 PM BST

Draper wins 6-0, 6-4!

Draper wins the opening point after an Arnaldi forehand flies long. The Briton then gets to 30-0 as Arnaldi sprays a backhand wide.

A good serve down the T brings up three match points for Draper who nets a forehand. Arnaldi then plays a backhand wide which sees Draper take the match 6-0, 6-4.

Stunning display from the Briton who is through to his first clay-court semi-final at Masters 1000 level.

05:58 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper 6-0, 5-4 Arnaldi*

Draper nets a forehand on the run to give Arnaldi the opening point. A couple of huge forehands down the line eventually gets Draper to 15-15 before the Briton hits a backhand wide to give the Italian a point.

Arnaldi then gets to 40-15 after a nice backhand on the stretch and holds as Draper hits a second-serve return long.

Over to Draper to serve it out!

05:54 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper* 6-0, 5-3 Arnaldi

Draper races to 40-0 lead before Arnaldi gets on the board after drawing an error from the Briton who nets a backhand.

An ace out wide sees Draper close out to 15.

05:51 PM BST

Draper having a good time on court

05:49 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper 6-0, 4-3 Arnaldi*

Draper nets a return as Arnaldi wins the opening point. The Italian then follows up with a nice forehand winner cross.

Arnaldi sees another dropshot hit the net as Draper looks to pounce on the Italian.

Draper gets to break point as Arnaldi hits 24th his unforced error. The Italian saves it with a nice angled volley. The Italian then gets to game point with a nice angled backhand. Draper comes up with his own to get back to deuce, then advantage with the help of a net cord. The Briton then hits a backhand wide to go back to deuce.

A Draper backhand long gives Arnaldi advantage and the Italian closes with an ace.

05:41 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper* 6-0, 4-2 Arnaldi

Draper begins the game with an ace out wide then gets to 30-0 after Arnaldi hits a return long on the backhand wing.

Two more winners from Draper sees the Briton hold to 15 and close in on this second set and the match!

05:38 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper 6-0, 3-2 Arnaldi*

Draper hits a forehand out on the run which sees Arnaldi go up 15-0. An error from the Italian brings Draper to 15-15 before Arnaldi takes the lead after hitting a backhand lob winner. A double fault gets Draper to 30-30, then Arnaldi attempts to play another dropshot that he nets. Break point Draper!

The Briton breaks thanks to well placed deep backhand after being brought in by Arnaldi.

05:32 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper* 6-0, 2-2 Arnaldi

Draper starts the game with a ace then goes up 30-0 after Arnaldi pushes a backhand long.

A clever second serve out wide sets up the point nicely for the Briton who sees out the game to love and levels things up in set two.

05:30 PM BST

Arnaldi red-lining to stay in touch

Arnaldi is red-lining it to stay in touch here. It feels like it is taking something special just to be competitive. But he has certainly lifted his game and this set is already more of a contest.

05:29 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper 6-0, 1-2 Arnaldi*

A couple of aces gets Arnaldi to 30-0 before the Italian goes long with a forehand to gift Draper the point. 

Lovely jumping backhand down the line gets Arnaldi to 40-15 before the Italian hits one long. A poor attempt of a dropshot from Arnaldi gets Draper to deuce and then advantage thanks to another Arnaldi error.

The Italian saves the first break point with a lucky forehand volley before going on to win the next two points and hold again in this second set.

05:22 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper* 6-0, 1-1 Arnaldi

Two uncharacteristic unforced errors from Draper sees Arnaldi get to deuce before normal service resumes for Draper as Arnaldi nets a forehand return.

Draper manages to hold after forcing Arnaldi way behind his baseline on the forehand side.

05:17 PM BST

Second set: (5)Draper 6-0, 0-1 Arnaldi*

Some big hitting from Arnaldi sees the Italian hang in there as he gets to 30-30 following an exchange of points early on.

Arnaldi eventually gets off the mark holding to 30 and secures his first hold of the contest after 33 minutes of play.

05:11 PM BST

Draper takes the first 6-0!

Two quick winners gets Draper to 30-0 before Arnaldi hits a return long to bring up three set points for the Briton.

Ace does the trick for Draper as the fifth seed dishes out a bagel in the opening set!

Superb, ruthless tennis from the Briton.

05:07 PM BST

(5)Draper 5-0 Arnaldi*

Draper races to 0-40 lead after three consecutive unforced errors from Arnaldi.

The Italian stops the rot, digging out a nice backhand winner on the slide and gets to 30-40 as Draper hits a forehand long.

But Draper is able to break again as Arnaldi nets another groundstroke from the baseline.

05:04 PM BST

Total dominance by Draper

Total dominance by Draper early on. He appears to have his forehand going exactly where he wants it and Arnaldi, like Tommy Paul yesterday, is being forced to overplay. This early lead isn’t a great surprise when you look at the data from Tennis Insights, who rated the serve, return, forehand and backhand of each quarter-finalist on the basis of their tournament to date. Draper was ahead of Arnaldi on all four measures.

05:03 PM BST

(5)Draper* 4-0 Arnaldi

Draper wins the opening point with a clean forehand winner down the line after a nine-shot rally.

The Briton then hits one wide before winning the next point with a casual forehand volley winner.

Arnaldi then hits a return winner to get to 30-30 before Draper comes up with another big forehand winner to bring up game point… and Draper holds to move 4-0 up in this opening set.

04:57 PM BST

(5)Draper 3-0 Arnaldi*

Arnaldi sprays a forehand wide to fall 0-15 behind. The Italian then nets a forehand as Draper moves ahead 0-30.

A deep forehand to Draper’s backhand wing sees Arnaldi get on the board.

Draper then plays a lovely forehand down the line for a clean winner to bring up two more break points. 

Arnaldi saves the first as Draper nets a forehand but the Italian is unable to save the second as he sees another backhand fly wide.

04:53 PM BST

(5)Draper* 2-0 Arnaldi

Big serve out wide sets up the opening point nicely for Draper who finishes with a huge forehand winner.

The Briton then gets to 30-0 following an Arnaldi error.

The Italian gets to 30-30 with a thunderous forehand low to Draper’s feet who was in the midcourt but Draper is able to hold to 30 and consolidate the break!

04:49 PM BST

First set: (5)Jack Draper 1-0 Matteo Arnaldi*

Draper gets on the board first as Arnaldi pushes a forehand long. The Italian then gets to 15-15 with a clean cross-court forehand winner.

A deep return from Draper sees the Briton dominate the next point which he finishes with a lovely forehand dropshot.

Some good hustling from the Briton gets him a first break point and he takes it as another Arnaldi forehand sails long.

04:39 PM BST

Coin toss

Arnaldi won the toss and has elected to serve.

04:37 PM BST

Players are on court

Matteo Arnaldi, headphones on, makes his way to court first followed by Jack Draper.

04:30 PM BST

Draper and Arnaldi up next on Arantxa Sanchez

Now Cerundolo-Mensik is over, Jack Draper and Matteo Arnaldi will be on court shortly.

04:27 PM BST

Cerundolo gets the win!

Francisco Cerundolo serves out the game to 30 and books his place in a second Masters 1000 semi-final.

04:20 PM BST

Cerundolo-Mensik update

Francisco Cerundolo is serving for the match against Jakub Mensik.

The Argentine leads 5-2 in the third set.

04:15 PM BST

Gauff gets it done!

Gauff closes out the match 6-1, 6-1 and books her place in the Madrid final for the first time in her career.

The 21-year-old American awaits the winner between world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina.

04:10 PM BST

Incredible scenes on Manolo Santana

In the women’s draw Coco Gauff is a game away from reaching the final.

The American leads the two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 5-0…

03:58 PM BST

Ruud books his spot in the last four

Earlier today, Casper Ruud booked his place in the Madrid semi-finals after taking out ninth seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

Ruud, seeded 14th, awaits the winner between Francisco Cerundolo and Jakub Mensik who are currently locked in a third set on Arantxa Sanchez.

03:42 PM BST

First meeting between the pair

Good afternoon and welcome to coverage of Jack Draper versus Matteo Arnaldi in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.

Draper saw off Tommy Paul in 68 minutes in the previous round in a clean clay-court display where he had a first-serve win percentage of 86. The world No 6 also never faced a break point in the contest. 

The Briton is playing some of the best tennis in Madrid where he is through to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay and is the highest seed left in the draw.

Speaking to Sky Sports after beating Paul, Draper said: “I just think I know that it’s just been a matter of time until I do something good on the clay. When I practise back home on it, and when I was younger, I always felt good on the surface.”

Arnaldi has also registered some impressive wins en route to the last eight, most notably a straight-sets victory against former world No 1 and three-time Madrid champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. 

The 24-year-old Italian, who is ranked 44th in the world, also took out 16th seed Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16 in straight sets.

This is the first meeting between the pair.

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