Staying calm key to Draper's first French Open win

Britain's Jack Draper says trusting his tennis would "click into place" was the key to earning the first French Open win of his career.

Draper, seeded fifth, moved through the gears to secure a 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory against Italy's Mattia Bellucci.

The British men's number one lost on his first two appearances at Roland Garros but has returned this year as a genuine force on the clay.

After beating 68th-ranked Bellucci, Draper said he is still learning the benefits of being more patient in the five-set format at Grand Slam events.

"When I lost the first set today, I wasn't panicking at all," he said.

"In a three-set match for instance, I'm usually quite aggressive and quite full on all the time, whereas in Grand Slams you just can't be like that because the match is just too long.

"I did a really good job of staying calm and knowing that my tennis was going to click into place."

The 23-year-old Englishman's victory ensured six British singles players won in the French Open first round for the first time since 1973.

Draper, who was the final Briton to play his opening match, came through to Cameron Norrie, Jacob Fearnley, Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal in the second round.

Draper's previous trips to Roland Garros have been memorable for the wrong reasons.

The left-hander retired during his main-draw debut two years ago and lamented being known as "the guy who is injured a lot", before struggling with his serve in a miserable defeat against 176th-ranked Jesper de Jong last year.

This year, he has returned as different proposition - and with a point to prove.

"To win my first match here feels amazing," Draper said.

"But I'm coming here wanting to go deep in the tournament. I have the confidence and I have the belief I can do that.

"Winning matches feels good, but my goals are much higher than that."

Over the past 12 months, Draper has enjoyed a steep rise and achieved a series of notable career landmarks.

He has moved into the world's top five after reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at last year's US Open, winning ATP titles on grass and hard courts, as well as reaching his first clay-court final in Madrid last month.

Observers with a deep understanding of the game have long insisted Draper has the ability to perform well on the red dirt, with British former world number four Tim Henman telling BBC Sport recently his best attributes - his left-handed serve and crunching forehand - could "work on any surface".

Once he got going against Bellucci, Draper proved that again.

Cutting out double faults helped his first serve became increasingly dominant - climbing from 58% of points won with the opening shot in the first set to 92% in the second - while the volume of forehand winners also increased.

The venom of this shot was too hot for Bellucci to handle - and wowed the Paris crowd, who regularly gasped at Draper's power and accuracy.

Draper's next opponent will be 's Gael Monfils, who came from two sets down to defeat Bolivia's Hugo Dellien in Tuesday's evening match.

In the opening game, Monfils lost his footing while attempting to play a forehand and stumbled heavily into a courtside advertising board.

The 38-year-old received treatment to his hand and knee but still appeared to be hampered in subsequent games.

However, world number 42 Monfils stormed back to complete a 4-6 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 victory, delighting his home crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.