Jack Draper recorded one of the greatest wins of his career last night, securing a first-ever victory against Novak Djokovic.
It marked the continuation of his sensational run of form at Indian Wells, where he is now on a nine-match winning streak following last year’s title there.
And yet, despite the triumphant nature of this win, the British number one is expecting more.
Asked whether he was surprised by his ability to compete so fiercely with one of the greatest tennis players of all time despite his minimal preparation, Jack Draper’s response showcased that this is only the beginning.
Jack Draper assesses his level vs Novak Djokovic
The 24-year-old revealed exactly what he told his coach about his level, first noting: “Yeah, I’m really proud of the way where I’m at with my game. I was saying to my coach I still think my level could be a lot better, to be honest. Not so much with the tennis but more my mentality on the court.”
Draper then explained why: “For instance, last year I played in a lot of matches, and, you know, you just get confident in knowing what to do in the big moments and knowing how to commit to the tennis you want to play.
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“It’s tough when you haven’t been on the match court for a while, especially against top, top players in the world again. They make you feel uncomfortable. I’m still learning about my game, identity on the match court again.
“So I think these matches are incredibly important to come through, though, because they’re the sort of matches you look back on and you think, oh, I came through that one, I was able to give myself another opportunity to play another match against another top player the next day.
“And all these are really, even though today is a big win, it’s also a small win in my recovery and coming back to playing and being the type of player I want to become.”
Then asked about his mindset heading into that all-important third-set tiebreaker, Draper added: “Yeah, I mean, I think the mindset going into the tiebreak was that I needed to be brave. I needed to keep good speed on my ball.
“I think the point of 6-5, yeah, I mean, it was already a physical match. Also very emotionally draining.
“When you’re playing a tight match like that, there is a lot of variables going on, and I think I physically handled it really, really well. And also just, yeah, like I said, just mentally being in these positions again, it’s even more tiring when you haven’t done it for a while, and you’re getting used to all these feelings again.
“Yeah, I was proud of the tiebreak I played and the way I was able to, you know, stick in there. I think I hit a really good backhand line at 4-All, maybe. So, yeah, I think a lot to learn and grow from that performance.”
Afterwards, Djokovic revealed the highlight he’ll take from his loss to Draper, whilst Draper was supremely complimentary about the Serbian superstar.
Jack Draper proves why he’s the man to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
For years now, there has been a worrying lack of talent with the capability of stepping up and unsettling Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance.
As such, Novak Djokovic has been forced to remain in that position as the third-best player in the world, despite his own struggles to topple them in Grand Slams.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
Stars like Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev and more have shown signs of challenging, and yet it is always the 38-year-old who finds himself in the latter stages of these elite events alongside the world’s top two players.
Last night, Draper proved why he is a level above the rest and could soon surpass Djokovic as well.
Despite having played very little tennis over the last year, his comeback has been remarkable, storming his way to the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells.
There have been no doubts over his technical quality, but to show such physical determination against his idol, who has not played a match since late January, was incredible.
If he can stay fit, Draper really does seem like the natural choice to actually threaten Alcaraz and Sinner over a sustained period of time.
