Jack Draper calls out ‘mental calendar’ after quick Davis Cup turnaround
Jack Draper has hit out at the ‘physically and mentally challenging’ tennis calendar, following the Brit losing his first match after breaking through at the US Open.
Draper travelled across the globe from New York to Manchester to represent Great Britain at the Davis Cup Finals Group stage, following his run to the US Open semi-finals.
However, it did not go to plan for Draper on Friday against Francisco Cerundolo, losing in straight sets to give Argentina the tie and put Great Britain in a difficult position in their quest to qualify for the Davis Cup quarter-finals.
While not making excuses for his defeat, Draper was keen to point out the challenges that the current calendar presents, “It’s a mental calendar. It’s my opinion that it’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity any more.”
The 22-year-old continued, “If you look at how many tournaments I’ve played this year, it’s hopefully 25, 26 for the first time. That’s a big positive in itself – this is my first proper year on tour. It’s definitely tough, but my team want the best for me, they want me to stay injury-free, to look after my body and mind.”
Draper has already played 46 matches so far in 2024, which is already 15 more than he competed in last year.
And the World No.20 has described the toll that it has taken on him, with Draper suggesting that the new two weeks Masters 1000 events give players ‘no time’.
“Since Miami [in March] I just haven’t had any time,” claimed Draper. “We went straight into the clay, then straight on to the grass, straight to the Olympics, straight out to Montreal, Cincinnati, training week, US Open, here, then it’s Asia, then it’s indoor season.”
He added, “I look at the sort of schedule, and I know players have done it for years, but the way the ATP have changed to two weeks with the Masters and these types of things, it’s giving us no time any more. There’s literally no break. It’s really mentally and physically challenging.”
Draper will look to continue his busy schedule later today, as Great Britain look to upset the odds by qualifying against 2022 champions Canada.
A huge 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 in Manchester! 👊
The Lexus GB Davis Cup Team face Canada at the AO Arena! 🇬🇧🇨🇦#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/r8GBJ4DPBy
— LTA (@the_LTA) September 15, 2024
Following his exploits in Manchester, Draper will head to Asia for tournaments in Tokyo and Shanghai.
Inside the baseline…
It has been very impressive from Jack Draper to still choose to play the Davis Cup after going deep in the US Open, as many other players wouldn’t and have not done in his position. However, some of that fatigue was definitely present for Draper on Friday, with the current tennis calendar absolutely brutal. Draper is not the only person to comment on this in recent times, with WTA No.1 Iga Swiatek also making complaints about the increase in mandatory events.
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