Jack Draper reveals goal ‘to be one of the best in the world’
Jack Draper has shut down the idea of just being a top 50 player, with the Brit claiming that ‘there’s no reason’ for him not to ‘go all the way’.
Draper is coming off the back of reaching the fifth ATP Challenger final of his career in Orleans, France, where he just fell short to Czech Tomas Machac.
A good week's work for @jackdraper0 who finishes runner-up at the @ATPChallenger Orleans 👊
📸 IG: cometorleansopen pic.twitter.com/tL0PuMx0Gq
— LTA (@the_LTA) October 2, 2023
The British No.5 has been on a comeback trail over the last couple of months, after a plethora of injuries forced him to miss several tournaments including his home major of Wimbledon.
This made the former top 40 player drop to as low as No.123 in the world, however he has been building his way back up since returning at the Winnipeg Challenger in August.
In this time, Draper has in fact produced the best Grand Slam performance of his career, reaching the fourth round of the US Open and when the new ATP rankings come out on Wednesday will return to the top 100.
And the 21-year-old has high ambitions now that he appears to have recovered from his previous injuries, “I feel like this year, although it’s been really difficult, dropping out of the top 100 and all these things. I’ve learned so much and I’m a much better player now than I was nine, 10 months ago.”
He continued, “My goal is not to be a top 100 or a top 50 player. My goal is to be one of the best in the world. There are many things that need to fall into place for that, but I think if I keep competing and keep working hard day in and day out and doing all the things I need to do physically and mentally to be at the top of the game, there’s no reason why I don’t have the game and the ability to go all the way in this sport.”
Draper has also reflected on his rehabilitation journey, and revealed how it can sometimes be ‘lonely’, “I’m proud of myself, but it’s definitely been difficult. With this year, having so many injuries and having to come back from them, it definitely builds a lot of strength of character.
“I knew I just had to get myself in a good place physically and mentally to be at the top of my game. The thing with being a tennis player is it’s an individual sport, it’s lonely and stuff, that is where having amazing people around you, who are always looking out for you, always there for you, is so important,”
Draper will continue playing ATP Challenger tournaments in France this week, in Mouilleron-Le-Captif, with a first round opponent of 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
Inside the baseline…
There is no doubt that Jack Draper has the potential to be a top 20 ranked player, and he has shown that he can beat some of the best players in the world with previous victories over the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner. However, this is definitely dependant on whether he can stay fit, as he has struggled with this since arriving on the scene in 2022.
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