Draper runs out of steam as breakout year concludes

It was not until 10 pm on Wednesday night that Jack Draper finally returned to the locker room after his tenacious victory over the world No 6 Taylor Fritz.

- Tumaini Carayol

Even then, there was no time to spare. He had just 19 hours to work through his daily treatment, recover, sleep and ensure that he was prepared for another meeting with one of the best players in the world.

That challenge proved a step too far in the end as Draper's fatigue caught up with him against an indefatigable opponent and he was methodically ground down in the last 16 of the Paris Masters by a brilliant Alex de Minaur, the ninth seed. Although Draper fought hard until the end, he the Australian finally won 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 yesterday evening.

"Alex played a really, really good match and he was moving great," Draper told the Guardian. "Obviously, I think just mentally, I was struggling to keep going today. It's been a lot of matches in a lot of days at a high level. And that's just the nature of tennis and something I need to keep on getting better at. The best players in the world will back it up every day. And I just wasn't able to do that today."