Jack Draper gives his verdict as he closes in on a mega rankings breakthrough
Jack Draper made some brutally honest confessions about his grass court form as he staggered into the quarter-finals of the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club, with the British hero now one win away from a hugely significant rankings leap.
An audibly frustrated Draper as he vented his anger on court after he dropped the opening set of his last-16 match against Australian No1 21 Alexei Popyrin in sweltering London conditions.
Yet despite feeling less than 100 per-cent physically, he found a way to get through with a nervous 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5) win in two hours and 13 minutes that could so easily have gone Popyrin’s way.
Draper is now just one win away from leaping up from his current ATP Ranking of No 6 and into the prized No 4 position next Monday, which will ensure he is seeded fourth in the Wimbledon draw.
That would ensure he will avoid a potential clash against world No 1 Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz until the semi-finals, even if that statement sounds lavish for a player who has yet to get past the second round in his home Grand Slam.
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“It’s obviously a big thing. I think it would definitely help, but at the same time, I don’t think I will think about that at all,” he said of the push to replace America’s Taylor Fritz as world No 4 when he takes on America’s Brandon Nakashima on Friday.
“Anything that I have sort of done in tennis, or achieved, I have never really thought about it. I’ve just kept on going.
“I focus on what’s important to me, what I can control. I can’t control if I go out there on Friday and play a great match.
“I’ll give myself the best opportunity to hopefully do that. And of course if I’m in that position, you know, it helps going to Wimbledon.
“To be honest, I don’t think I have been that great. I think I have competed really hard. I think my serve’s been pretty good.
“But the tennis I know I can play and the tennis that’s got me to the position I’m in, I think there is still a lot of improvement to come.
“My goal is to peak at Wimbledon, you know. I’m going to give myself a chance each day to get better.”
Draper has struggled with his physical conditioning on court at times during his career, but he believes he is now reaching a level that will give him a chance to challenge for Grand Slam titles.
“I have always worked really hard off the court,” he added. “I think that’s helped me play more consistently on the tour. I have felt better and better every Grand Slam I have played.
“You know, before I felt like my energy wasn’t that strong, and I felt like I looked like a bit of a Ferrari but I was a bit of a Toyota, like broke down quite easy.
“Now I’m starting to feel generally stronger and confident in myself.”
Draper revealed after his first match that he had a couple of injury scares ahead of his opening win, with a heavy fall in training his biggest concern as it left him ‘limping around’ prior to his grass court opener.
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