Jack Draper gets candid advice from a former British No 1 over serving concerns
Jack Draper has made a tentative return to the game at this week’s Eastbourne Open, but he may need to adapt his game to ensure he can avoid ongoing injuries that could derail his career.
Draper climbed into the top four of the ATP Rankings after his stunning win at the Indian Wells Masters last year was backed up by some impressive performances on clay courts.
Since then, he has been kept off the court by a combination of an arm injury, a knee problem and most recently a shoulder injury that threatened to end his hopes of playing at Wimbledon.
While Draper has managed to get himself back on court and looks set to play at Wimbledon next week, former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has suggested he may need to adapt his serve to prolong his career.
Draper is currently working with two-time Wimbledon Andy Murray as his temporary coach, with Rusedski stating his belief that the player who’s ranking has slipped outside the top 100 needs time on court to get back to his best.
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“I think it’s about the accuracy on the serve,” said Rusedski on his podcast. “He’s got to take his mindset different when he’s serving now because he talked about it.
“He has to accept if he’s not able to pop the serve the way he did before with the with the way the shoulder is.
“When you look at Novak Djokovic. His accuracy was off the charts. I mean, he’s hitting it so close to the lines. So Jack has got to get his accuracy numbers up better so he can get that first strike in.
“So for me, if I was working with him, which I’m sure Andy’s talking to him about, let’s get your accuracy closer to the lines. Let’s take some pace off to save the shoulder.
“And if he can get the reps and all of a sudden the shoulder can take it, then he can gradually increase the pace of the serve, but right now, it’s playing back to back to back to back tournaments.”
Draper has admitted he is still stepping into the unknown when he takes to the court after playing just a handful of matches since Wimbledon last year, with former British No 1 John Lloyd telling Tennis365 that he is still a potential Grand Slam winner.
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“I feel so bad for Jack because he’s the real deal, he certainly would be if these injuries weren’t occurring,” said the 1977 Australian Open finalist.
“A fit Jack Draper is capable of winning a Slam, in my opinion. He’s already got to four in the world, and that sort of looked like it was the beginning [for him].
“But now these injuries come up, it worries me a little bit because it seems to be various things, not just one thing.
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“When your body breaks down, and in this day and age, the physicality is huge. He’s a big dude.
“I don’t know his medical team, I’m sure he’s got the best that there is, and I’m sure they’ll find a way. But it’s a bit worrying.”
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