“I’m very ambitious”: Draper embracing “wholesome moment” at Indian Wells but wants more
The 23-year-old made it clear that his maiden Masters 1000 title is just the beginning
Mark J. Terrill/AP/SIPA
Jack Draper says that his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Indian Wells Open in California on Sunday “feels honestly amazing” but he is also just getting started.
The Brit beat Holger Rune in a dominant 6-2, 6-2 display to complete what has been a coming-of-age tournament for the 23-year-old, with victories over two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, 2022 champion Taylor Fritz, world No 12 Ben Shelton and teenage sensation Joao Fonseca.
While Draper is happy to soak in all the feelings that come with such a momentous victory, he’s made it very clear that this is not the pinnacle of his career: it’s just a stepping stone.
“Now I’m here, it feels honestly amazing,” he said. “It feels just a lot of pride, a lot of passion. It’s not so much of, like, oh, I have done it now. It just feels like a really wholesome moment that I can share with my family, my team, and all the people who have helped me, and that makes it all the more special.
“Obviously I want to be a great player, and I want to achieve amazing things in this sport, but my main goal is keep on improving and keep on knuckling down. I know there is a long way ahead of me. I’m very ambitious. I don’t want to just stop here. I want to keep on going.
“Not really thinking about any outcomes, ranking-wise or events-wise. I feel like I have achieved a lot in the last year, and it’s been nothing to do with setting goals. Setting goals and saying you’re going to do something, it’s important to believe it, but if you’re not putting in the work and putting in the sacrifice and the days of consistency together, then you’re not going to achieve anything.”
Draper credits structured training for Indian Wells title
Saturday in California felt like a big moment for Draper, winning a deciding set against defending champion and world No 3 Alcaraz.
With Draper having shown some signs of struggling physically in the semi-final – and having a history of endurance issues – there were doubts over how he’d pull up against an in-form Rune in the final.
But Draper put any question marks to bed with a brilliant display of tennis, which he puts down to his consistency on the practice court.
“You know, I try, me and my coach, we try on waking up each day and approaching practice, approaching everything I do in a very structured way and a very consistent way so that I don’t have many bad days,” he said. “So when I do maybe have a bad day, my level is still very high.
“I have been through it many times now where maybe I’m playing a big match the next day, and your mind wants to tell you all the time that you’re tired and that you’re struggling. You know, I think when I’m practicing, I have really tried to, over the years, become consistent in my practices. You know, like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, you know, there is many days during that time where you feel like you don’t want to do it and you feel tired and you feel like you’ve got no energy.
“It’s important when you’re training on those days to really push to the max because you know that you’re going to be in a similar situation when you come to the competitions, as well, that you’re going to be tired and feel like you don’t want to do it and you’re nervous and all these things.
“I just tried not to think about it too much. Like I said, I felt a bit fatigued this morning from all of the emotions of yesterday. But I’m in a final, I have worked so hard to get here, I have beaten five great players, and there is no time to be tired. I’ve got to go out and go for it on every ball. And no matter how I’m feeling, just put my head down and fight for everything.”
