Jack Draper has got people talking about him after a breakout start to the 2025 season.
Draper had never won a French Open match before this year, but has now reached the second week.
The world number five particularly impressed in his latest match, where Draper beat Joao Fonseca in straight sets.
Next for Draper is Alexander Bublik, who could throw up some obstacles for the British player looking to reach the second major quarter-final of his career.
John McEnroe says what Jack Draper over the last 12 months which is ‘incredible’
When looking ahead to the remaining last-16 matches at the French Open this year, former world number one John McEnroe made a big prediction about Draper.
While suggesting that Bublik could cause him issues, McEnroe also spoke about how impressed he has been with Draper’s rise to the top five in the ATP rankings.
In this praise, McEnroe backed Draper to become a multiple-time Grand Slam champion and made a big claim about his Wimbledon chances next month.
“Bublik is actually super talented,” McEnroe said on TNT Sports. “He’s a big guy with a huge serve. He’s got all the shots, great touch.
“Sometimes they ask him, hey, are you interested in maybe being in the top 10 or 20? ‘No, no, no. You know, I’d prefer to fly under the radar, have some fun, win some matches, make a great living playing tennis.’ Not the attitude that you necessarily want to hear from a tennis player who’s got top 15 potential. But he’s dangerous.
“Jack’s locked in beautifully. This is the best I’ve ever seen Jack play. It’s incredible how much he’s improved in my book the last year or so, even on clay. I mean he looks great on clay, he’s formidable, man.
“I think he’s gonna win majors, not major, majors. Wimbledon, he’s going to go in at worst is like the fourth favourite at worst.
“He’s certainly a guy that’s going to, to me, probably more likely than any other guys I mentioned, win majors. I don’t think he’s quite ready yet here, but he’s getting awfully close.
“I suspect that, you know, he’s been well-schooled about what to expect. I mean, any player is really, when you play Bublik, what the hell is going to happen, so it makes it interesting, but I see him winning fairly comfortably.”
While there are big hopes for Draper at Wimbledon, it is actually his worst-performing Grand Slam tournament after being unable to surpass the second round in his three previous appearances.
Jack Draper vs Alexander Bublik Head-to-head
Despite Bublik appearing to be somewhat of a threat to Draper reaching the French Open quarter-finals, he has never actually beaten the Brit on the main tour.
Neither of these previous meetings were on clay, with their most recent encounter coming on the hard courts of Adelaide last year.
Bublik does have something to hold onto, as he did beat a 17-year-old Draper in Queen’s qualifying in 2019.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2019 | Queen’s Club (Qualifying) | Bublik beat Draper, 6-2 1-6 6-3 |
| 2021 | Queen’s Club (R16) | Draper beat Bublik, 7-6(5) 7-6(0) |
| 2024 | Adelaide International (SF) | Draper beat Bublik, 7-6(2) 6-4 |
Bublik had never won more than one match at the French Open before, and is now just one win away from reaching the quarter-finals.
The Kazakhstani will take on Draper in the final match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Monday, June 2.
