Jack Draper makes bold Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner claim as he sets his sights high

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Jack Draper setting his hopes high for 2024
Jack Draper setting his hopes high for 2024

Jack Draper spent a large part of 2023 on the sidelines with injury, but it appears the sparkling performances of the two most talked about young players in tennis fired his burners ahead of the new season.

Draper’s shoulder problems saw him miss the entire grass court season in England last summer, with the sight of Carlos Alcaraz winning Wimbledon for the first time fuelling his ambition to follow in those footsteps.

Jannik Sinner then finished the year on a high with wins against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup.

That inspired suggestions that Alcaraz and Sinner will be the two young guns likely to challenge Djokovic for all the big titles in the new year, but Draper insists he can get involved in that discussion.

“I am happy for them because they are great young players and I understand how much you have to put into the sport, especially at an early age. I have huge respect and admiration for what they are doing,” Draper told Eurosport at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London.

“On the other side I remember when I was injured with my shoulder and I was watching Alcaraz play Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and it was frustrating to see a young player out there achieving amazing things, because of the competitor I am.

“Some people look at that and make excuses and say ‘you know, he’s lucky because he’s in that position or whatever’, but I understand he is in that position because he has put a hell of a lot of work in and he has done all the right things for many years.

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“I think I can take a lot of inspiration and learn from a lot of things that these guys are doing, and really that fuels my fire to be in that position as well.

“It’s going to be interesting in the next couple of years if I can stay injury-free and do all the right things to see if I can get up there with those guys.”

He went on to discuss his hopes of challenging for a first major tournament title in 2024, with his goals being set high.

“There’s a lot of amazing players who have been and gone and haven’t won Grand Slam titles. It’s important for me not to look too far ahead,” he added.

“I speak with my coach all the time about what my goals are and all these sort of things and the main one we always come back to is you can have visions of doing great but if you’re not putting the work in and doing the right things on a day-to-day basis then it’s going to be hard to achieve what you want.

“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.

“I believe my tennis is pretty close to that but it’s about doing it on a consistent basis in competition and staying injury free.

“I really believe in my game and my team and the way I approach things. I really believe I can be a top-20 player at the end of next year if I get things right, so that’s my goal and aspiration.”

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