Jack Draper is in a race against time to find his serve and game for Wimbledon after blowing the chance of a glamour clash with Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open.
The British No.2 battled back from two sets and 0-3 down to force a decider against world No.176 Jesper De Jong.
But a frustrated Draper dropped a series of F-bombs along with his serve at 3-4 after sending down a horrible ninth double fault on break point.
Five points later the world No.39 succumbed to his worst Tour level defeat by ranking in his longest ever match.
Draper puked in a courtside bin after winning his first ever five-set match at the Australian Open in January.
And he was equally sick after going down and out in Paris 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3) 3-6 6-3 in four hours and six minutes. He has still to win a match here after pulling out with a shoulder injury last year.
“Obviously very frustrated,” he said. “This loss hurts a lot. I know I’m so much better than how I played today, and that’s what hurts.
“I battled my way back and started playing a decent level. Obviously very frustrated with a lot of things.”
Usually so reliant on his big serve, the left-hander made only 50 per cent of first serves in the rain-affected first round match.
He has made technical changes to his action following the addition of super coach Wayne Ferreira to his team in a bid to become a “top player”.
But Draper said: “The serve was a real problem. I was playing without a serve. My serve has been a problem this year. I’m trying to change it to make it better, and obviously I’ve made those changes in the last few weeks.
“So it’s not comfortable, especially in a Grand Slam playing in a fifth set on a second serve. The confidence isn’t there at the moment on my serve, and it’s a problem.”
Also seeking to be more aggressive, he admitted his game is in “transition” at the busiest time of the year with Wimbledon fast approaching on July 1. Draper next plans to play in Stuttgart on June 10 before the Cinch Championships at Queen’s Club
“I’m trying to change my game a little bit and that’s going to take time,” he added. “It’s very up and down at the moment. How long will it take? I don’t know.
“These tournaments, it’s going to be very strange competing and playing. It will happen pretty quickly because I have the mindset of buying into it.”
De Jong will face Alcaraz in the second round after the world No.3 passed the fitness test on his forearm by taming lucky loser JJ Wolf 6-1 6-2 6-1.
The Wimbledon champion, who wore a protective sleeve on his right arm, said: “I think the arm is 100 per cent. Obviously it is still feeling weird, let’s say, or afraid to hit every forehand, I mean, 100 per cent. It’s still in my mind, but I didn’t feel anything after the match so I can say it’s fully recovered.”
Alcaraz also confirmed he plans to play doubles at the Olympics in Paris with Rafa Nadal.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk