British No 2 Jack Draper crashes out of French Open in the first round after shock defeat by world No 176 Jesper de Jong in worst loss of his career

Jack Draper said it “felt like I was playing without serve” when he lost to world number 176 Jesper de Jong in the first round of the French Open.

In the rankings it was the worst defeat of the British number 2’s career and also, at four hours and twelve minutes, his longest match ever.

Draper came back from two sets down to force a decider, but could not finish off his persistent opponent. The 22-year-old hit nine double faults, the most expensive of which came on break point in his final service game of the match, and was followed by a volley of f-bombs.

“My serve was a problem this year,” he said. “I’m trying to change it to make it better, and I’ve been making those changes over the last few weeks. So it is not comfortable, especially at a Grand Slam where you play in the fifth set with a second serve.

“The confidence isn’t there in my serve at the moment and it’s an issue I need to work on with coaches and see where I can make it more consistent because it’s really letting me down.

The British number 2 lost 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3 in four hours and 12 minutes against Jesper de Jong (photo)

‘The frustrating thing is that I feel like I miss my serve every time by such a small distance, and I don’t understand how that is possible.

‘This loss hurts a lot. I played a long match there. Felt great physically. I look at the positives on that side, but my tennis… I know I’m so much better than how I played today, and that’s what hurts.

‘We have to have a short-term memory in tennis and there will be more opportunities. I just hope I can learn from this loss.”

Including adjustments to his serve, especially around his stance, Draper is revamping his game at the instigation of his new coach Wayne Ferreira.

The South African former world number six believes Draper’s defensive, abrasive tennis style was enough to get him ranked 39th in the world, but he needs to become more assertive to take the next step.

It’s one thing to come up with a new game plan on the practice court, but quite another to implement it in the intensity of Grand Slam fighting.

According to the rankings, it was the worst loss of Draper’s career and his longest match of his career

“If you’re used to playing defense all your life, it’s very difficult to look at tennis in a different way,” Draper said.

‘I am now 35 in the world, playing the way I have, but I don’t want to stay between 20 and 50 for my entire career. I want to become a top player.

‘Things need to change, and that will take time. We talked about it before: these tournaments, it will be very strange to compete and play.

‘I really believe that I want to do things differently. I want to play more aggressively, I want to take it more to the opponent. Even in today’s match it was there at certain times, but it’s not consistent. Things are very up and down at the moment.’

It can be a deceptively nasty tie if you’re playing a qualifying match. De Jong, 23, had already won three matches on these courses and while the Dutchman left with full sail, Draper was still finding his sea legs.

After two sets and trailing 3-0, Draper, perhaps liberated by the lack of pressure on the scoreboard, began swinging with more abandon and playing the kind of front-foot play that Ferreira demands.

He won the third set and was leading 4-1 in the fourth when rain forced the players out of the match for an hour and a half. When play resumed, things were much more tense, and at the key moment in the fifth set, Draper’s serve malfunctioned.

“I have to expect things to be difficult for me right now,” he acknowledged. ‘I have to assume that I don’t play with a lot of confidence and reassurance in my tennis. I think that showed.

‘Some parts were good, and then at big points there’s a double fault, a missed return, a missed forehand in the middle of the court.’

On paper, this is an ugly defeat, but Draper deserves enormous credit for attempting to rework his game to aim for the sport’s highest echelons – and for being so honest about what he’s trying to achieve.

But unless you’re at the pinnacle of tennis – Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have done this to great effect – it’s incredibly difficult to adjust your game mid-battle.

Things may get worse before they get better for Draper, but if they do indeed get better, perhaps he will look back on days like yesterday with a sense of grim satisfaction.