DRAPER GIVES JOAO SCHOOLING

ACK DRAPER bullied Brazilian Joao Fonseca out of the French Open to stay on collision course to meet Jannik Sinner in the last eight.

- By Neil McLeman

Teenager Fonseca has been tipped as a future superstar — and Mats Wilander claimed that the world No.65 could join the Italian and Carlos Alcaraz in a new Big Three.

But Draper yesterday showed he is the player most likely to threaten the world’s top two as he gave the 18-year-old a harsh lesson.

Foneseca has a fearsome but wild forehand and the rest of his young game has still to mature. And Draper mixed drop shots — which his opponent usually did not chase — with looping groundstrokes to break his rhythm and his spirit.

Long before the end the flummoxed Flamengo fan was looking up to his player box in confusion as Draper won 6-2 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 46 minutes. This hyped encounter started in drizzle and ended as a damp squib.

It was man against boy.