At last year’s French Open, every British singles player crashed out in the first round — the third time this century the nation has suffered a complete opening-round wipeout at Roland-Garros. British players have historically struggled on clay, a surface that remains both scarce and underdeveloped in the UK. The country’s climate makes red clay courts expensive and impractical to maintain, limiting player exposure and favouring development on faster hard and grass surfaces instead.
In the Open Era, Sue Barker remains the only Briton to have won the French Open, clinching the trophy in 1976. Even Andy Murray struggled on the red dirt, losing his only French Open final to Novak Djokovic in 2016, and he only claimed two ATP titles on clay over his illustrious career.
On Sunday, Jack Draper was on course to buck this trend. The British No. 1 was denied a first ATP Tour clay-court title by Casper Ruud, who defeated Draper 2-1 in a thrilling Madrid Open final.
Ruud, the two-time French Open finalist, fought back from 5-3 down to secure the opening set. Despite Draper taking the second set to tee up a winner-takes-all final set, the Norwegian edged his opponent to claim his maiden Masters 1000 title.
The 23-year-old had never gone beyond the quarter-finals of a tour-level tournament on clay, but didn’t lose a set all week in the Spanish capital prior to the final, proving he is more than capable on the surface.
