When Ruud goes cross court to Draper’s backhand, he’ll be hitting to one of the most dangerous shots in tennis. Draper, a natural righty, goes extremely big from the backhand wing, and he hits it deep in the court. Also, while Draper’s forehand is the attackable side of the court, it’s hardly a weakness. That’s the shot that won him the BNP Paribas Open. He hits it with a lot of spin, pushing opponents all around the court and getting them far away from the baseline so that he can find angles or hit drop shots to win points.
Draper is also a better server than Ruud by a pretty wide margin, and his returning has been remarkable all season long. That said, Draper is going to be a nightmare for Ruud to play against.
The only thing I’m a little nervous about is Draper holding up physically. Musetti was moving him side to side in their semifinal, and I would have liked the Italian’s chances of outlasting the Brit if that went to a decider. Ruud will likely try and do his best to deploy a similar strategy. Draper’s conditioning really hasn’t been an issue in 2025. But with Ruud not having many other buttons to press, he might look to out-work him. I just don’t think that’ll work.
PIck: Draper -2.5 Games (-125) .
