Jack Draper made an emphatic start to his Internazionali BNL d’Italia campaign on Friday, quelling the energy of a passionate Foro Italico crowd with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over home favourite Luciano Darderi.
The fifth seed wasted little time asserting control, racing through the first set in just 24 minutes after breaking Darderi’s serve three times. Although the second set was more tightly contested, Draper’s composure shone through as he saved all six break points he faced to seal the win and move to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Italian.
“I came out really well today,” Draper reflected post-match. “Mentally, I knew it would be tricky, but I’m pleased with how I handled key moments. I needed a match like this to feel strong again — it was a solid mental performance.”
Draper, one of the ATP Tour’s form players in 2025, arrived in Rome off the back of his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a runner-up finish in Madrid. Against Darderi, the Briton fired 12 winners to just one in the first set, quieting the home support early. His victory marked his 13th Masters 1000 win of the season, drawing him level with Lorenzo Musetti for the most on tour this year.
With his 20th tour-level win of the season, Draper solidified his position as No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and closed the gap on Taylor Fritz in the PIF ATP Rankings, trailing the American by only 155 points in the race for a coveted top-four seed at Roland Garros.
Next up, Draper will face Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva, who stunned 32nd seed Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Draper will be targeting the 100th tour-level win of his career in that encounter.
Elsewhere, second seed Alexander Zverev opened his Rome title defence in dominant fashion, easing past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1. The German broke serve six times and extended his remarkable Rome record to 23-1 against players ranked outside the Top 5. Zverev now faces Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas, who upset Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4.
“I think overall it was a good match,” Zverev said. “I did what I needed to do and I’m happy with the way I played.”
