Jack Draper’s brutally honest confessions highlight how tough his journey has been

The road to the top has been laced with hurdles for Jack Draper and now he is maturing into the champion he always wanted to be.

Roll the clock back ten years and the young man who fell in love with the sport primarily because mother Nicky was a tennis coach didn’t appear to have the natural gifts that would take him to the top.

His passion for success was never in doubt, but Draper was not the tallest player in his age category and he also had to overcome the perception that he had been given ‘special treatment’ with funding as his father, Roger, was leading the LTA, the governing body of British tennis.

Draper had to prove to his doubters that he was worthy of the support he was getting and he took a little longer than he would have wanted to get to this point in his career.

His stunning performances have included wins against Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, with the top 10 of the ATP Rankings now very much in his sights.

As he looks back on his story, Draper does so with a maturity that comes with appreciation that he is now one of the biggest names in tennis and what comes next may be even more exciting.

With a powerful game that looks certain to drive him towards superstar status over the next few years, Draper has to be a contender to become the first Englishman to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936.

“I went through many ups and downs, not just physically but also from a mental standpoint there was a couple of times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to carry on,” Draper said as he looked back over his story so far in a media briefing in Indian Wells.

“It’s really difficult coming up through the futures and the challengers. It’s brutal. It’s not Wimbledon, it’s not Indian Wells, not coming to these nice places and everything is amazing.

“You know, it’s going to a place for three, four weeks on end, you know, very lonely. When I was younger, I was thinking the sport was very different to what, you know, was the reality of it.

“So a lot of the stuff for me was kind of getting my head around the fact that I was going to have to — it wasn’t going to be I’m going to rock it at Wimbledon and win. It was I have to really put in the work for a long time to be able to get to this stage.

“A couple years ago I went through a lot of injuries and I sat at sort of 40 in the world but I was sort of there, not really fully invested, so I looked to myself and I thought if I’m going to do this, then I’m gonna have to put in a hell of a lot of work. I’m going to, you know, just really take the ups and downs as they come. You know, look forward and be positive.

“I think from there, really, I got about 16 months of really good stuff, and, you know, I feel really healthy. I feel good in my mind, feel good in my body. I’m looking forward to hopefully what’s to come.”

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Draper openly admits he struggled with the physical and mental demands of playing on the ATP Tour, with the draining nature of the sport taking time to adjust to.

“I think when I look at all the best players in the world, especially, like I said in a sport like this, where it is relentless, it is every day we have to keep on coming out there and proving ourselves,” he continued.

“There is many, many matches in a year, many, tournaments, and I think to have that mindset is really positive, in all honesty, and it’s suited to this sport, because you can’t have any off days. You have to keep on going.

“I think a big quality of mine is the fact that I give my all. I compete my hardest every single time I play on the court, every point, and yeah, my game has really come together. I think that the competitiveness that I bring to the court also is a real key to my success, as well.”

Belief is also important for any athlete eyeing up the biggest prizes in their sport and with that top 10 ranking spot now in his sights, Draper has suggested he is ready to take on all-comers as he looks to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game.

“Me and my coach are big believers that if I put my game on the court and if I do the right things, then, you know, I can honestly beat anyone,” he added.

“Obviously at this level, the margins are so small. Maybe there is a couple of things tactically, maybe where the person likes to serve a little bit more, where maybe my positioning could be on the return, but everyone is so good that it’s kind of like I can beat them and they can beat me, because they can play amazing tennis and I can also play amazing tennis.

So let’s go out and give it everything, try my best to execute a game plan and we’ll go from there. A lot of players like to analyze things very closely. You know, I’m not like that. I know that if I give my 100%, then that’s all I can do.”

Draper took time to realise the potential he has always possessed, but his time has now arrived and if he can avoid injuries, he will be a contender for any tournament he enters from this point forward.

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