Brit bonanza as Jack Draper joins Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie in booking Madrid Open third round spots

Usually there are not many Brits left standing with Jack Draper often left to fly the flag but on Saturday at the Madrid Open, it was a triple success as Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie joined the current British No.1 and top 10 star in reaching the third round.

Draper is leading the charge and after a poor time of it against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte-Carlo Masters, he took down Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-4 to seal his spot. He also will have a chance for clay court success this week.

Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing and Novak Djokovic losing to Matteo Arnaldi leaves that bottom half of the draw with a Draper sized gap for him to squeeze through. After spending the past week practicing with Jannik Sinner, he will want to prove he is the real deal on this surface.

His serve in particular was superb as he took down a player who has been superb as of late but the altitude seemed to kill him as the Dutch ace was seen complaining to his team about the conditions. Jacob Fearnley who was one of the best risers on tour last season also prevailed amid painkillers and an ankle injury.

The 23-year-old came from a set down to defeat Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 and said that he rolled his ankle and it was only the painkillers that got him through.

‘First set I was playing some of my worst tennis in a while,’ Fearnley told Sky Sports. ‘Then I rolled my ankle and was in a decent amount of pain. The doc gave me some painkillers and I just loosened up. Believe it or not a twisted ankle actually helped my performance today.’

Cameron Norrie who has become almost the forgotten man in this British puzzle has also had success and also senses an opportunity. He saw off Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. He now faces Gabriel Diallo for a spot in the fourth round. Amid struggles for Djokovic, the story was a British bonanza today elsewhere.