British No. 1 Jack Draper booked himself a place in the round of 16 at Indian Wells on Monday with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby of the United States.
In contrast to his opening-round clash against Joao Fonseca, in which he sealed the victory by winning nine consecutive games, Draper struggled to maintain a consistent performance against Brooksby.
Draper averted what would have been his lowest-ranked defeat by edging past the world No. 937 but was visibly rattled by his opponent during the opening set. The Briton trailed 1-4 and slammed his racquet on the floor in frustration.
“Jenson is an unorthodox player, he makes life really difficult,” Draper said after the match. “He doesn’t make the rhythm easy. I got off to a slow start, I missed a couple of opportunities early on.
“But I’m glad of the way I fought and competed. Even though it wasn’t my best tennis today, I’m really happy with the way I tried my best to stay cool.”
Draper will face either third seed and 2022 champion Taylor Fritz or 30th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the round of 16.
