Draper is the whetstone of the Alcaraz Rome Masters

At 9 o'clock tonight, the first quarter-final of the Rome Masters kicks off, with Spanish all-round fighter Alcaraz facing British left-handed Draper. Russian Thor Khachanov, who lost in three sets to Alcaraz yesterday afternoon, is a litmus test of Alcaraz's competitive form at the Rome Masters, so Draper, who is competing with Alcaraz for a place in the semi-finals tonight, is the whetstone of the Alcaraz Rome Masters.

After yesterday afternoon's examination by Khachanov, Alcaraz is injury-free and his competitive form has improved. After almost two and a half hours of fighting, Alcaraz was in good shape, saying: "I didn't feel any pain in any part of my body, just a little fatigue after the fight".

Alcaraz is still struggling with his serve, and the first-serve scoring rate, first-serve scoring rate and second-serve scoring rate have hit a new low in this tournament, although due to Khachanov's strong strength and better return serve, but also because Alcaraz's own service is not in good condition, giving the opponent the opportunity to receive the serve and attack. The number of winning points was as high as 41, which was only 5 more than the unforced errors, which was slightly worse than the 24 in the first game, but it was much better than the 13 more unforced errors than the winning points in the second game, indicating that Alcaraz had a good hitting touch and improved his competitive form.

Alcaraz's performance in front of the net has improved steadily, scoring 21 points in 26 online games, and the scoring rate in front of the net is more than 80%, not only the number of nets is far higher than the previous two games, but also the scoring rate is also higher than the first two games, which shows that Alcaraz, who likes to shoot small balls and is good at volleying in front of the net, is back.

Alcaraz was thrilled to win over the mighty Khachanov: "Khachanov played well, it was very tricky, the game was very tough. I put in a lot of effort, ran more and fought for every point. It's amazing to finally get the win! I'm so proud of myself! ”

Tonight's opponent, Draper, is stronger and more confident, and how will Alcaraz perform? Will Alcaraz be able to use Draper as a whetstone to sharpen himself stronger and more confident?

Born in December 2001, British left-hander Draper is 1.93 meters tall, with a tricky left-handed serve, a fierce forehand shot, and an excellent backhand draw. In the 2024 season, Draper ushered in an explosion. He won his first career title at ATP 250 Stuttgart, then won five straight matches at the US Open to reach the semifinals without dropping a set, and finally won the ATP 500 in Vienna, ranking 15th in the world at the end of the year.

Entering the 2025 season, Draper has taken a step forward and finally turned into a top player, ranking in the top 10 immortals in the world. After losing two sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Alcaraz retired injured to win the ATP 500 in Doha, and defeated defending champion Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters to win the first Masters title of his career. On March 17, Draper reached No. 7 in the world rankings and entered the top 10 in the world for the first time.

Although the back-to-back Miami Masters horses missed the first leg of the second round, losing to the eventual champion, Czech post-05 player Mensick, but entering the clay season, Draper turned into a clay master, Monte Carlo Masters stopped in the third round, the Madrid Masters reached the final, and on May 5, the world ranking reached a new high to fifth, becoming the second left-handed racket player in the world after the Spanish god of war Nadal in the 21st century.

At nine o'clock tonight, in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters, Alcaraz and Draper met for the sixth time in their careers. In the previous five meetings, Alcaraz led 3-2, but Draper's two victories dealt Alcaraz a heavy blow. In the second round of last year's ATP 500 London Queen's Cup, Draper eliminated defending champion Alcaraz in two sets. In the semifinals of this year's Indian Wells Masters, Draper defeated defending champion Alcaraz in three sets. With such two painful defeats, how can Alcaraz be embarrassed?

Tonight's decisive battle will be full of sparks and absolutely exciting! Draper hopes to build on his strength and reach No. 4 in the world with a bold victory over Alcaraz, setting a new world high; Alcaraz is vowed to hone his form and confidence on this whetstone and get revenge with a thrilling success to cement his No. 2 ranking in the world and secure a place as the second seed at the 2025 French Open.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)