“To finish this strong is amazing”: Draper looks to maintain momentum heading into 2024
Jack Draper is exciting to build on his momentum after winning the UTS Grand Final, saying his mentality has shifted heading into 2024
Jack Draper UTS Grand Finals – Tennis Majors / UTS
It’s safe to say that 2023 hasn’t been the dream year for Jack Draper. Yet again, the 21-year-old has had his season interrupted by injury, keeping him on the sidelines for large chunks of the past 11 months.
Winning the UTS Grand Final for the loss of only two quarters across five matches has given the Brit fresh momentum heading into 2024, however, with the man nicknamed “The Power” optimistic about his upcoming season.
“My year has been tough up until summer,” Draper said after defeating Holger “The Viking” Rune 3-1 in the UTS Grand Final on Sunday. “To finish this strong and play some great tennis in my home country, in my home city, is amazing.”
No champagne for Draper following UTS victory
While winning the UTS Grand Final in London will go down as the biggest achievement of the young Englishman’s career so far, there will be no partying tonight for Draper.
Instead, his focus is firmly on leveraging this momentum ahead of the 2024 season kicking off in January.
“I’ve been putting in a good solid training block, and obviously to come here and put that into action has been great,” said Draper. “I felt physically good and mentally really strong. I’ll have a day off tomorrow, then get back to the drawing board and get ready for 2024.”
Draper was upbeat about his progress this year, despite sitting at No 61 in the world and only managing to play 31 matches for a 19-12 record in 2023.
“I feel like I’m improving all the time, learning about my game,” he explained. “I think physically I’m really trying to put in the work and my mentality has really shifted. I want to genuinely be one of the best players in the world, and I believe I can.
“I just need to stay injury free and keep my head down, keep working and doing all the right things. I’ve got a great team behind me and a lot of people who support me and want me to do well, so I just need to try and stay consistent.”
“I’ve just got to keep on working” – Draper
While both Rune and Casper “The Iceman” Ruud were quick to lavish praise on Draper after his success in London, the 21-year-old isn’t getting carried away.
“At the end of the day I’m 60 in the world, and they’re top 15,” Draper retorted, when informed that his peers have described his level this weekend as worthy of the top 10 on the ATP Tour. “I’ve just got to keep on working and hopefully I’ll get to their level soon.”
With the lightning bolt tattoo on his arm bearing an eerie resemblance to the Zeus trophy awarded to him for winning the UTS Grand Final, Draper gave an insight into the meaning behind his tattoo, and his mentality ahead of 2024:
“Anyone who puts work into something and really wants to achieve something, they can do it. We have the ability to achieve whatever we want, if we put our minds to it.”
Certainly his success in London is a product of the hard work Draper has put in over recent months, and will set the young player up well for the coming year.
