Neither Jack Draper nor Mattia Bellucci has ever won a French Open match heading into Tuesday's first-round contest.
However, the British star has never entered the year's second Grand Slam with his stock as high, making him a potential outsider for a deep run in Paris during his third appearance at the event.
Match preview
Draper's ambition to enjoy third-time luck at Roland Garros is expected to be realised if the world No. 5's form and trajectory since mid-2024 are any indicators.
While the 23-year-old's battling qualities have always been evident, maintaining his health has been a challenge for the hard-hitting Brit; however, much has changed since he clinched two titles in Stuttgart and Vienna, the latter of which was an ATP 500 event.
The new season has seen Draper rise in the men's tour, highlighted by reaching the final in Doha, securing a maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, reaching the last 16 in Monte Carlo, making the final in Madrid, and advancing to the last eight in Rome.
Holding a 22-6 record for the season, the British No. 1 now aims to record a 23rd win to finally claim his first victory at Roland Garros after early disappointments last year and in 2024.
The French Open remains the only Grand Slam in which Draper has yet to achieve success, but his stock has never been higher, and he is the clear favourite to secure passage to the second round at Bellucci's expense.
Like Draper, the Italian is winless in Paris, though the underdog's sole loss was in his 2024 debut against Frances Tiafoe, taking the American to five sets in that round-one encounter.
After leading that match heading into the fourth set, Bellucci was unable to resist Big Foe's comeback and now faces an even tougher test against Draper.
Although the 23-year-old progressed to the Rotterdam semi-final and last eight in Marrakech, his failures to reach the main draw in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, along with early exits in Madrid and Rome, mean that the world No. 68 is approaching the second Slam of 2025 in underwhelming form.
This is underscored by an 11-16 record across both qualifying and main-draw matches for the world No. 68 this season, further emphasising why he enters Tuesday as the underdog.
Aiming to record a 12th win this year and his first in Paris, Bellucci comes into his tussle with Draper aware of the need to play high-level tennis to take down the British No. 1 star.
Head To Head
Tokyo (2024) - Round of 32: Draper 6-4 6-2
Draper and Bellucci met on the ATP Tour last year, with the Briton claiming victory in straight sets.
Since falling to fellow Briton Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon, the fifth seed has gone 4-1 against left-handed players, most recently overcoming Ben Shelton at Indian Wells and Corentin Moutet in three sets.
While Bellucci lost to Albert Ramos in a recent Challenger event, the Italian had won three consecutive matches against lefties, defeating Gijs Brouwer, Maees Rottgering, and Norrie.
We say: Draper to win in four sets
Draper is favoured to finally achieve success at Roland Garros at the third time of asking, thereby overpowering Bellucci and advancing to the second round for the first time to face either Gael Monfils or Hugo Dellien.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
