Jack Draper is on the verge of replacing Novak Djokovic in the top five of the world rankings ahead of his Madrid Open quarter-final against Matteo Arnaldi.
British No 1 Draper dispatched 11th seed Tommy Paul 6-2 6-2 on Wednesday to book his first quarter-final at a clay-court ATP 1000 tournament.
The 23-year-old said he was determined to improve his results on the surface this season and is the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw, after losses for Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz on Tuesday and with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner not playing in Madrid.
Draper will take on the unseeded Arnaldi on Thursday afternoon, who handed Djokovic his third consecutive defeat in the second round last week. If Draper wins, he would overtake Djokovic in the live rankings and enter the top five for the first time.
Djokovic, who has also pulled out of the Italian Open next week, has not won a title since the Paris Olympics last summer and, although he reached the Miami Open final in March, has lost his opening match at four of the last five events.
Draper would even take third place in the ‘Race to Turin’ rankings if he reaches the semi-finals, having won the biggest title of his career to date at Indian Wells in March and reaching another final in Doha the previous month.
Draper lost in the first round of the French Open last season but is feeling more confident on the surface and believes his hard work is paying off with his run to the Madrid quarter-finals.
“I just think I know that it’s just been a matter of time until I do something good on the clay,” Draper told Sky Sports. “When I was younger, I always felt good on the surface.
“It’s a bit of a different level now, obviously. It feels good to try and keep on proving to myself and everyone else that I’m a good player on this surface and that I’m dangerous.
“At this level it’s all about momentum and confidence and especially on this surface I feel like it’s just more matches, more time competing against the best players in the world and I felt really good out there.
“Probably for players from the UK or who don’t play on the surface often, they go into it with the mindset that they’re not going to be that great on it, therefore that can prevent them from going further.
“Whereas last year I took a few early losses, this year it’s been a big goal of mine to prove that I can play really well [on clay] and I know if I want to be a top player then I have to.”
