Jack Draper makes intriguing grass confession as he addresses chasing Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner
Jack Draper has identified a “stigma” he thinks he has faced about playing on grass courts as he named the surface he has “enjoyed the most” in his career to date.
The world No 4 continued his Wimbledon preparations with an exhibition match against Holger Rune at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham on Thursday.
Draper defeated eighth-ranked Rune 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 in an entertaining matchup on the pristine Centre Court at the Hurlingham Club in London.
Prior to his contest with the 22-year-old Dane, Draper fine-tuned his grass-court game in a practice session with retired Spanish great David Ferrer. Ferrer, a former world No 3, is competing in doubles exhibition matches in Hurlingham.
The British star reached the last four of the Queen’s Club Championships last week, losing to Jiri Lehecka.
Draper has repeatedly expressed his desire to chase down the two leading players on the ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have each secured three of the last six Grand Slam titles.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in an epic French Open final earlier this month, and the duo are the top two favourites to triumph at Wimbledon.
“I don’t know what I’m capable of yet, but I aspire to be at that level,” Draper said of Alcaraz and Sinner at The Queen’s Club. “What those guys are doing is setting the way and it’s changing the game. Players like myself are going to be working very hard to get to that point, that’s for sure.”
Following his match at Hurlingham, Tennis365 asked Draper if he feels grass is currently the best surface for him to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz.
“I mean, yeah, I think grass is a surface that really suits my game,” said the 22-year-old.
“I think people had this stigma that, because I’m a British tennis player, then I must be unbelievable on grass.
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“I never play on grass, it’s difficult, but I’ve had wins against them (Alcaraz and Sinner) on this surface and I feel confident. It suits my weapons. I think I’m still learning how to be most effective on this surface.
“Obviously the outdoor hard — the outdoor and indoor hard is probably the surface I’ve enjoyed the most throughout my career so far, but I’m still quite inexperienced on the grass.
“So I think it’ll be interesting to see how I get on next week and obviously for the rest of my career.”
Draper also addressed how it feels to lead his fellow Brit’s as the country’s top-ranked player at Wimbledon for the first time.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “A lot of British players, a lot of British talent. I think it is really exciting for the British public to have so many good people in the draw from this country.
“I am looking forward to going out there and competing hard. I think it is a great opportunity for us all. I feel good, I feel prepped from last week.
“It was good to hit on the courts at Wimbledon. Obviously here a bit slower, bit better to feel your game a little bit more. And yeah, I feel strong, I feel ready.”
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