Draper edges past Monfils in late-night French Open thriller

Jack Draper ensured there will be three British men in the French Open third round for the first time since 1968 by seeing off home favourite Gael Monfils in a memorable late-night thriller.

With the Parisian crowd willing on 38-year-old Monfils, fifth seed Draper stayed focused and regrouped to win 6-3 4-6 6-3 7-5.

World number six Monfils threatened to force a decider in an absorbing contest - full of high-quality rallies and entertainment - but could not serve out at 5-3 or take two set points at 5-4.

Draper, 23, maintained his composure superbly to turn these pivotal moments in his favour and record the finest Roland Garros win of his fledgling career.

The British number one, who plays Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca next, moved into the last 32 alongside Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie, who play each other in an all-British meeting.

Fearnley, 23, progressed when his French opponent Ugo Humbert retired following a nasty fall.

Fearnley, who replaced Norrie as the British number two earlier this year, was leading 6-3 4-4 when 22nd seed Humbert quit.

Norrie, 29, booked his place earlier on Thursday with a 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 6-1 win over Argentine qualifier Federico Gomez.

It will be the first time in the Open era - which started in 1968 when professionalism was ushered in - that two British players have met beyond the first round in Paris.

Over the past year, Draper has developed into a leading player who has genuine ambitions of landing the biggest prizes in the sport.

The Englishman, 23, has negotiated a number of tricky situations in recent months and the way he overcame Monfils was another example of his growing maturity.

After two chastening previous experiences on the Paris clay, Draper has returned with a point to prove.

Patience was required as he battled from a set down against Italian opponent Mattia Bellucci on Tuesday to earn his first career win at Roland Garros.

It was a similar theme against the popular Monfils, who has the ability to whip up the crowd with his entertaining shot-making and infectious character.

The French fans have a reputation for being boisterous and, with one of their favourite sons playing in the twilight of his career, created an energetic atmosphere which Draper had to block out.

Crucially, he remained calm for the majority of the entertaining contest.

Despite having his errors enthusiastically cheered, and spectators being implored to stop shouting out, Draper stayed locked in to retake the lead after Monfils levelled.

Signs of agitation did begin to show in the fourth set.

An outburst towards his box released some tension - and drew whistles from the home fans - but could not prevent Draper from losing serve for 4-2.

After not converting four break-back points in a 13-minute seventh game, Draper took his chance in the ninth - but the drama continued as Monfils had two set points in the 10th.

Draper, though, is a different beast these days.

Having won three consecutive five-setters at the Australian Open in January, he proved again how he can successfully come through moments of adversity deep into Grand Slam matches - even though he avoided a decider this time.

Keeping his cool, Draper won the final five games of the match to seal a three-hour victory at 11:44pm local time.

Fearnley overtaking former world number eight Norrie - becoming British number two behind Jack Draper - was another notable landmark for the Edinburgh player.

Having only graduated from university in the United States last April, Fearnley was ranked outside of the world's top 500 just 12 months ago.

Since then he has made one of the fastest climbs in ATP Tour history and broke new ground at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Fearnley won on his Wimbledon debut last summer before putting up a fight in a four-set defeat by reigning champion Novak Djokovic, then beat home favourite Nick Kyrgios on his way to the Australian Open third round in his overseas major debut.

The eye-catching draws continued when he was paired against Swiss former champion Stan Wawrinka last week at Roland Garros.

The manner in which he quietened the pro-Wawrinka crowd in an efficient victory stood him in good stead for facing Humbert.

Fearnley, whose background in the trash-talking US college game helps ensure he does not get fazed, sapped some of the energy from the home fans in a confident start.

He did trail by a break in the second set as Humbert threatened a comeback, but ultimately progressed in the way which no player wishes to win.

Humbert tumbled as he stretched for a return at 40-40 in the eighth game and clutched his right leg.

After receiving treatment, he tried to continue wearing heavy strapping and lost serve before deciding it would not be sensible to carry on.

As a result, Fearnley - who is 55th in the world after a rapid rise over the past 12 months - moved into the last 32 on his French Open debut.

Now he will switch his attention to Norrie, who also learned his craft playing for Texas Christian University.

Norrie has slipped to 81st in the rankings, but has rediscovered his form on the clay and earned one of the most satisfying wins of his career when he beat former world number one Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros earlier this week.

Facing 114th-ranked Gomez in a match he was expected to win presented a different challenge.

"I had to get up for this match - I was the favourite to win it," Norrie told BBC Sport.

"I was able to bring a 6/7 out of 10 performance, I was happy with that."