“I’m in a better position for the Australian Open this year” – Jack Draper fit and ready

Jack Draper experienced a painful defeat in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open, losing to Rafael Nadal 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 as he struggled to cope with cramp.

One year on, he is in Adelaide to warm up, and says he is in good condition to take on the field at the year’s first Grand Slam.

“I don’t remember much from [Australia] last year, to be honest,” he told reporters after winning his first-round match at the Adelaide International against Sebastian Baez. “I played the semi-final here [at the Adelaide International 2], then I think I caught a flight, and then I was playing the next day and then I lost [to Nadal] and I was out that night. It was kind of a weird feeling. It felt like it went very quickly. I don’t remember much about playing Rafa or anything like that. It all felt a bit of a blur.

“Depending on how this week goes, I’m really excited to go back to Australia, and I feel like, again, I’m in a better position to hopefully do well in the tournament. I feel confident that I can do well there.”

Draper: It’s tough seeing other players do well

After a string of injuries, Draper finished the season strongly – notably winning the UTS Grand Final, assuming the nickname “The Power”, and defeating Holger Rune in the final, which the 22-year-old said gave him a lot of confidence. He told the press conference that his end-of-year success reflected the physical work he had put in in the preceding months.

“I was in a good position, and then there was a stage come grass where it just seemed like it was all going wrong, lots of injuries and stuff.

“After that sort of period of being out from the French Open until after Wimbledon, kind of changed quite a lot of things – tried to really work hard on my body, and also being out, it’s tough seeing other players do well and all these sort of things.

“I came back really motivated and had a good US Open [reaching the round of 16], and then that gave me a lot of confidence going into the end of the year with Davis Cup and Sofia. I think I won a Challenger, as well. I think I’ve been building a lot of good practices and a lot of matches at the end of last year, so I feel confident coming into this year.”

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