Draper has yet to taste victory at Roland Garros, having been forced to retire injured on his debut and suffering a five-set defeat in 2024 while adjusting to changes in his game.
'I've seen Federer and Nadal and they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this.'
Fifth seed Iga Swiatek stages revival to stay in hunt for 4th French crown.
Struggling Swiatek will open her campaign against Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova.
Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu are generating major excitement - not just for their upcoming mixed doubles debut at the US Open
Novak Djokovic said he owes much of his success to his former rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
As the spotlight shines on Carlos Alcaraz's title defence and Novak Djokovic's pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam, a determined group of challengers is quietly preparing to shake up the draw.
Iga Swiatek arrives at Roland Garros this month under a cloud of uncertainty, with the Pole enduring one of the toughest stretches of her career just before the defence of her French Open title.
Defending champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz powered into the second round of the French Open on Monday.
Novak Djokovic notched his 99th career French Open win with a clinical 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic to reach the fourth round on a memorable Saturday night in Paris.
The French Open said it would also honour its 2000 women's champion Mary Pierce as well as fellow local favourite Richard Gasquet, who will retire after the tournament this year.
IMAGES from the French Open at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Wednesday.
The free-swinging Monfils broke Draper's serve in the fourth set as the clock moved past 11pm local time and saved five break points in an epic seventh game to move 5-2 ahead.
Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway advanced to the third round of the French Open men's doubles with a thrilling three-set victory over seventh seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.
'I believe that tennis or every sport needs rivalries. This could be potentially one of them, but there are amazing players coming up.'
IMAGES from the French Open played at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Sunday.
A clash of nerves, brilliance, and next-gen firepower-Alcaraz showed once again he's made for the biggest stages. As the tennis world erupted, legends led the tributes.
It was then plain sailing for the Tuscan, who read his opponent's serve perfectly to break repeatedly and used his elegant single-handed backhand to perfection to set up a clash with wildcard Valentin Royer or lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan.
Carlos Alcaraz demolished Mattia Bellucci to banish memories of last year's shock early exit at the US Open on Wednesday.
Tenth seed Lorenzo Musetti rallied from a set down to beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday even as Carlos Alcaraz mauled big-serving American Reilly Opelka and veteran Venus Williams made an emotional exit.
Carlos Alcaraz will aim to reinforce his status as the new all-court monarch of men's tennis with a third successive Wimbledon title
Fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos bagged their maiden Grand Slam trophy as a pair by battling past British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski in the French Open doubles final.
The following are five contenders for the men's title at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
Nagal bows out of French Open qualifying
Novak Djokovic hit a barrage of drop shots to beat Alexander Zverev for a place in the French Open semi-finals on Wednesday.
Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just under an hour to clinch her first Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam crown overall.
Alexander Zverev will be third seed for the French Open but the 28-year-old German's prospects of winning his first Grand Slam title in Paris are not looking especially bright.
Paul must overcome defending champion Alcaraz in the quarter-finals to keep his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title alive.
Images from the US Open matches played at Flushing Meadows on Saturday
Carlos Alcaraz fought back from the brink to outlast top seed Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) in a French Open final for the ages on Sunday to retain his crown and cement his status as the Prince of Clay in Roland Garros' post-Rafa Nadal era.
Iga Swiatek bulldozed her way to a maiden Wimbledon title on Saturday to take her Grand Slam tally to six
Nadal touch helps Paolini reach French Open third round
'Beautiful draw': Retiring Gasquet meets Sinner in French Open swansong
Madison Keys fought off a late challenge from fellow American Hailey Baptiste to book her spot in the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Roland Garros on Monday.
Teenager Andreeva marches into Wimbledon last 16
'It'll also be difficult for him, tennis requires that competitive rhythm, but Rafa is Rafa, even if he arrives without many matches, he'll surely show a spectacular level.'
Olympic champion Zheng powers into French Open third round
With two match wins in total in his last four Grand Slams, Tsitsipas has turned to the former coach of Novak Djokovic to turn his fortunes around.
Norway's Casper Ruud, the French Open runner-up in 2022 and 2023, crashed out of the tournament in the second round on Wednesday after losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to unseeded Nuno Borges of Portugal.
Together, the two young stars have now claimed seven out of the last eight Grand Slam titles.
