The Jack Draper story – big Rafael Nadal similarity, fitness woes, dietary change and the fear factor
Jack Draper’s road to the top of tennis has been laced with obstacles, but his sumptuous potential is now being realised in glorious technicolour.
At the age of 23, the new hero of British tennis is set to rise to No 5 in the ATP Rankings when they are updated on Monday, with Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray the only other players from his nation to break into the elite top quintet on the rankings list.
Here are five key facts behind Draper’s evolution from pretender who is now a threat to win every big title in tennis:
THE LEFT HANDER
Jack Draper joined Rafael Nadal as the second left-handed ATP singles player in the 21st century to reach the world’s top five – a feat which was confirmed after his quarter-final victory over Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open.
Yet in a curious twist of fate, Draper is actually right-handed… as is Nadal.
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They just happen to play tennis with the racket primarily in their left hand, as Draper’s mother Nicky explained in an interview with the LTA.
“He has always played tennis left-handed,” she said. “He writes right-handed, he was a right-handed thrower, but he always held a racket with his left hand.”
FINDING HIS FITNESS
Like his fellow Brit Emma Raducanu, Draper’s progress at the start of his career was hampered by injury concerns.
He would struggle to finish matches, pull out of tournaments with injuries and his opponents knew that when the temperatures rose and the pressure was applied, Draper’s physical issues would trip him up.
That was the story in last year’s US Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner, but Draper seems to have learned from that experience and now has better control of his emotions and his body.
“I never felt Jack’s fitness issues were down to a problem with his preparation and it was always more a mental thing,” said former British No 1 Tim Henman in an interview with Tennis365.
“It ends up being a physical issue for Jack, but he played three five-set matches at the Australian Open and came through to win all of that. It was a big moment for him and he has kicked on from there.”
DITCHING CAFFEINE
Draper revealed last year that he had made a decision to remove caffeine from his diet, in a bid to improve his durability on court.
“I used to take a lot of caffeine before I played, because I felt maybe sometimes with my emotions, I would feel tired before I played,” Draper told BBC Sport last year.
“The anxiety would shut me down, so my way of dealing with it was taking on a hell of a lot of caffeine, but I learnt that probably wasn’t the best situation because I ended up becoming very wired and very agitated, and I wasn’t able to be present and focus on what’s important.
“I think it was probably best that I cut it out of my life.”
FINDING HIS BELIEF
Draper told Tennis365 that he was frustrated seeing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner start a new generation of champions in men’s tennis at a time when he was struggling to stay fit for long enough to compete with them.
“I can take a lot of inspiration and learn from a lot of things that Alcaraz and Sinner are doing, and really that fuels my fire to be in that position as well,” Draper told this website in December 2023.
“I believe I can get close to the top guys and my main goal is to fulfil my potential. If that’s to be a Grand Slam champion or to be top five or top 10 or top 20 we will see. But I do have big aspirations to be in that position one day. Fulfil my potential and then let’s see.”
Draper has already achieved some of the targets he mentioned, with the Grand Slam title now his next big target.
It is clear that Draper now believes he belongs at the top of the game and that is a massively important factor when he gets his chance to challenge for Grand Slam glory.
THE FEAR FACTOR
Carlos Alcaraz alerted the world to the fear factor Draper serves up when he admitted he was wary of playing him in Indian Wells in March.
“I always say that I have to be focused on myself, on my own game,” said Alcaraz after he lost to Draper. “I think today I was more worried about his level, his game, than myself… So when you’re thinking more about the opponent than yourself, then it is a big problem.”
Those highlighted the threat the biggest names in tennis feel when they play Alcaraz and that will be a factor next time he faces Draper.
It was also interesting that Sinner picked Draper as one of his practice partners as he launched his comeback bid after his drug ban, in a sign that he was keen to assess the level of a player who has excelled on the ATP Tour in his absence.
Sinner vs Draper looks certain to be a Grand Slam match sooner rather than later once again as both players look set to be in the top four of the ATP Rankings for some time to come.
