Jack Draper had a fitting response when he was compared to Rafael Nadal after reaching the Madrid Open quarter-final. The British No. 1 thrashed Tommy Paul 6-2 6-2 in just 68 minutes to book his spot in the last eight on the Spanish clay.

Annabel Croft later told Draper that his game was reminiscent of Nadal, the man dubbed the ‘King of Clay’. The 23-year-old has shown some similarities with the Spaniard as a left-hander, but a bemused Draper had to remind Croft that he didn’t quite have the same record on the surface.

The No. 5 seed in Madrid has little experience on the clay, playing only his seventh Masters 1000 tournament on the surface. But he’s been on fire this fortnight and produced another statement performance against Paul, hitting 20 winners and dropping only four games.

After racing through his round-of-16 match, Draper had the Sky Sports pundits comparing him to one of the greats.

“All of us are sitting here thinking, when we watch your explosive forehand, there are elements that remind us of Rafael Nadal. Do you feel that yourself or have you watched him a lot over the years and thought that there are some similarities with what you do?” Croft asked him minutes after he sealed victory.

But the 23-year-old thought it was a little early to start putting him and Nadal in the same breath. “I mean I haven’t won 14 Roland Garros’ just yet!” he laughed.

“Rafa is obviously someone, being a lefty, that I looked up to when I was younger. I don’t sort of compare myself to him, but I’d like to think that I want to have qualities like Rafa.

“Whether that’s attitude or his forehand with the shape. There’s certain things I can take from him for sure, but not quite his level yet on the clay.”

At No. 6 in the world, Draper is now the highest-ranked man left in the draw following some withdrawals and shock early losses for the top players. And he’s here to prove that British players can perform on the clay.

“I think probably for the players who are from the UK or who don’t play on the surface often, they go into it with the mindset that they’re not going to be that great on it and that can sort of prevent them from going further,” he explained.

“Whereas, last year, I took a few early losses in the rounds and I was really bummed with it because I know I can play well on the surface.

“This year, it’s been a big goal of mine to prove that I can play really well and I know that, if I want to be a top player, I have to.”

Draper is now through to face Matteo Arnaldi, the young Italian who stunned Novak Djokovic in the second round.

He added: “I think at this level it’s all about momentum and confidence, especially on this surface.

“I feel like it’s just more matches, more time, more time competing against the best players in the world. I felt really good out there today.”