‘Resilient’ Jack Draper sets sights on Alcaraz & Sinner, reveals his 2 target tournaments
Jack Draper believes that the next two years will be ‘interesting’ for him as he aims to get closer to the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
The Brit has competed in just one professional match since withdrawing from the US Open in August, after suffering from lingering arm pain.
Draper defeated Viktor Durasovic 6-2, 6-2 in the United Kingdom’s Davis Cup World Group qualifying tie against Norway, but withdrew from the Rotterdam Open just days later.
“It’s a privilege to be in the position,” said the world No 12, during an interview with the Khaleej Times.
“Obviously, now, I have a bit of an injury setback. But truthfully, since I was a young boy, all I wanted to do was to be the best tennis player in the world.
“To do that, you have to deal with not just the tennis and your opponent, but also you have to deal with, you know, the outside noise, the pressure, all these things, and if you can’t, then you shouldn’t be doing it. So I’m very fortunate to be in that position.”
In June, Draper reached a career-high ranking of world No 4 after winning his maiden Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells and reaching the final of the Madrid Masters – in addition to a fourth-round appearance at the French Open.
However, despite the success, the Brit was suffering from the injury during the whole clay-court season, which, eventually, peaked during his second-round loss at Wimbledon to Marin Cilic.
After the defeat, he was diagnosed as having bone bruising of his humerus – which runs from the shoulder to the elbow.
Draper went on to defeat Federico Agustin Gomez in four sets at the US Open, but withdrew from his match against Belgian Zizou Bergs and ended his season.
Despite the significant setback, the world No 12 believes that he can – once again – compete with the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner.
“Right now, I am obviously behind, you know, the start of last year, I was building my way up,” he added.
“I think obviously this injury has set me back a little bit, just in terms of the fact that I haven’t competed for a while and at the same time, it has made me more resilient and made me learn a lot about my game.
“So I think the next year and a half, two years is going to be very interesting for me because I feel like I have a lot to improve, a lot to develop and a lot of experience still to come, which maybe they have over me.
“But I have full belief in myself that I can reach the very top of the game.”
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Draper also revealed that he would most like to win the Olympics and Wimbledon, but that he wants to focus on what is in his ‘control’, rather than anything else.
“I think everyone wants to win a gold medal at the Olympics,” the former world No 4 commented.
“You saw what it meant to (Novak) Djokovic (when he won it in 2024). To win the Olympic gold the way he did was incredible,” he said.
“And what Andy did, winning two golds, is something very special. I think if you ask him, it was one of his biggest achievements.
“I think Wimbledon is obviously the tournament I want to win more than anything.
“I never like to talk about winning tournaments. I just focus on what I can do as a tennis player and what’s in my control, to keep on improving, keep learning, keep growing as a player.
“And I believe if I do that, I have a very strong chance of putting myself in some good positions.”
Draper will next compete at the ATP 500 event in Dubai, where he is due to face off against a qualifier in his opening match, with either Fabian Marozsan or Arthur Rinderknech awaiting.
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Ugo Humbert are also lurking deeper into the Brit’s quarter.
The ATP’s Dubai Championships takes place at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre from February 23 – 28.
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