Jack Draper claims he is finally ready to break his French Open duck.

The British No 1 enters the second Grand Slam of the season as the fifth seed – despite having never won a match at Roland Garros.

Draper was ranked 39th in the world when he was beaten by qualifier Jesper De Jong in the first round last year.

It proved something of a watershed moment for the Londoner, who has since been a US Open semi-finalist, an ATP Masters winner and climbed into the world’s top five.

Draper, who faces Italian Mattia Bellucci in the first round, admitted: “It’s weird, I’ve never won a match here, but I come here feeling good about my tennis.

“When I’ve played here in the past, I don’t feel like I’ve entered the court with any confidence or any belief that I could do pretty well.

“It’s like I’ve been here, but I haven’t. I’m looking forward to coming here and feeling like I am – confident.

“I think with the way I’m playing, the fact that I’ve really improved a lot recently and my ranking is going up and I feel confident, I think there’s a good chance I can do really well. I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

Draper could face another Italian, world No 1 Jannik Sinner, in the last eight.

Fellow Briton Sonay Kartal is up to a career-high 53rd in the WTA rankings and has designs on breaking into the top 50 by the time Wimbledon comes around.

The 23-year-old from Brighton, who will make her Roland Garros debut against Russian Erika Andreeva on Sunday, said: “That’s definitely something I want to try and achieve this week.

“I want to go into the grass ideally inside the top 50. That would be a big goal for me. If I could do that this week I’ll gain a lot of confidence from that.”

Just 15 places separate Kartal, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter in the world rankings, with a race developing to become British No 1.

“Obviously it would be a huge honour to be that,” Kartal added. “I’ve still got a lot of time. I’m only 23. It’s not my only goal that I’m pushing towards. I think I’ve got a lot more things that I want to achieve.”

Boulter, who has topped the British rankings since June 2023, said: “If my ranking is going in the right direction, I’ll remain there. If not, great. It means the other girls are doing really well.”

None of the seven British entrants – Cameron Norrie, Jacob Fearnley and Jodie Burrage make up the contingent – are in action on the opening Sunday.

Raducanu will play her first-round match, against China’s Wang Xinyu, on Monday.

Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.