With Wimbledon now officially over, it will not take long for attention to turn to the next Grand Slam at the US Open.
After all, it will be roughly six weeks until we return to such elite, high-octane action, reconciling with a handful of other events, including some lucrative Masters 1000 events.
The US hard-court swing of the tour is a particularly gruelling period in the tennis calendar, coming after two very quick-fire majors. As such, many players will start to drop like flies with injury.
We have already seen some massive names caught by this unfortunate phenomenon, but it’s to be expected when so much is demanded of them.
Whilst not physically drained, one player certainly was affected mentally by the pressure heaped upon him at Wimbledon.
As such, Jack Draper will head into this part of the year, and the US Open, with a massive point to prove.
Jack Draper massively underwhelmed at Wimbledon this year
Although he matched his best-ever finish at the All-England Club this year, it really was an underperformance by his and the nation’s standards.
After all, he went in as the British number one and fourth seed at the event, putting himself in a phenomenal position to enjoy a deep run.
And yet, he was felled in just the second round by a 35-year-old Marin Cilic.
The Croatian is a top player, but there’s no denying that his best days are behind him. But on Court One, he was outplayed by the wily veteran, stunning those inside the stadium and the many more watching on elsewhere.
British hopes had been dashed, with Cameron Norrie left to fly the flag instead.
Few would have predicted that the 29-year-old would have overtaken Draper as Britain’s best-performing male at the event.
Cilic was asked if he spotted any weaknesses in Draper’s game after beating him earlier this month, and was frank in his assessment.
Jack Draper has a point to prove at the US Open
With this stinging early exit still fresh in the memory, Draper can hopefully use this as fuel to gather momentum ahead of the US Open.
Especially considering he will have to defend plenty of ranking points at that Grand Slam, having reached the semi-finals last year.
Clearly a fine player on the fast-moving hard courts, the hope is that with conditions favouring him in places like Cincinnati, Toronto and New York, Draper can get his season back on track after an unsettling Wimbledon.
People will have expected more, and he will know that he underdelivered. Perhaps this could be beneficial in allowing him to return under the radar once again, ready to prove everyone wrong with a strong finish to 2025.
