Draper one win from top 5 after victory over Paul in Madrid

Fifth seed Jack Draper dominated American Tommy Paul, the No 11 seed, 6-2, 6-2 as he reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters for the first time on Wednesday.

Draper, ranked No 6, was in control from start to finish as he set up a clash with Italian Matteo Arnaldi next, a match that gives him the chance to overtake Novak Djokovic and reach the world’s top five for the first time.

The highest seed left in the event, it is Draper’s fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final in just his seventh Masters 1000 event and even in blustery conditions in Madrid, he looked totally at home.

“At this level I think it’s a lot about momentum and confidence,” said Draper, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells in March. “More matches on the surface, more matches competing against the best players on the surface (helps). I felt good out there.

“I had some early losses on clay last year but I always thought I can play well on it. This year’s it’s been one of my goals to prove I can play well on clay.”

In the previous rounds of the Madrid tournament, Jack Draper won against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (6-3, 6-4) and Italian Matteo Berrettini, the No 30 seed (7-6 (2) ret.).

Paul, ranked No 12, won against Brazilian Joao Fonseca (7-6 (7), 7-6 (3)) and Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 24 seed (6-3, 3-6, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

Madrid Masters 1000, other last 16 results (Caja Mágica, clay, EUR 8.055.385, most recent results first):

• Alex De Minaur vs. Lorenzo Musetti
• Grigor Dimitrov vs. Gabriel Diallo
• Matteo Arnaldi beat Frances Tiafoe (16): 6-3, 7-5
• Casper Ruud (14) beat Taylor Fritz (3): 7-5, 6-4
• Daniil Medvedev (9) beat Brandon Nakashima (31): 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
• Francisco Cerundolo (20) beat Alexander Zverev (1): 7-5, 6-3
• Jakub Mensik (22) beat Alexander Bublik: 6-3, 6-2