Jack Draper Admits He’s Starting To “Feel the Pressure” of Being the Only British Hero This Grass-Court Season

Jack Draper has never gone beyond the second round of the Wimbledon Championship but has broken almost all his previous major event records.

Jack Draper Admits He’s Starting To “Feel the Pressure” of Being the Only British Hero This Grass-Court Season

Jack Draper (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Jack Draper is at the peak of his career and has been brimming with confidence on the court this season. As British No.1, there have been increased expectations regarding his chances of winning his first Grand Slam at the Wimbledon Championships, but the 23-year-old is not allowing the pressure to get to him.

Draper has enjoyed a sensational run this season, but his best Grand Slam run came at the US Open last September, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

With just ten wins on the red dirt ahead of the 2025 clay season, he surprised the tennis world with his powerful run of form afterward. He reached the final of the Madrid Open before losing the title to Casper Ruud and then got to the quarter-finals of the Italian Open. At the Roland Garros, he won three consecutive matches for the first time in the tournament and exited in the fourth round.

He’s currently participating in the Queen’s Club Championships, where he’s the home favorite to win the title. He’s not only the local hero there but also at the Wimbledon Championships, where there are hopes he will become the first British man to win the title since Andy Murray in 2016. But Draper has never gone beyond the second round in Wimbledon.

In his debut in 2019, he was drawn against Novak Djokovic and was thrashed by the Serb. He then lost to Alex de Minaur in the second round the following year, before missing the entirety of the grass-court season in 2023 due to a nasty shoulder injury.

Last year, he lost to Cameron Norrie in straight sets at the All England Club. Ahead of this year’s edition, he revealed during his press conference at the Queen’s Championships that he will not dwell on the pressure of being the local hero:

In a tennis player’s life, there is already enough stress and necessary routines to think too much about what people expect from me here in my country. I know I am one of the favorites to achieve significant things, and I am happy with that because I am living the dream I had as a child. Obviously, I feel the pressure of playing at home, but I try not to dwell on it and continue doing everything necessary to improve.

Draper is seeking to be the No.4 seed at the Wimbledon Championship, which will mean he will not face Carlos Alcaraz or Sinner until the semi-finals. However, to get there, he has to manage to reach the semi-finals of the Queen’s Championships after World No.4 Taylor Fritz lost to Corentin Moutet in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament.

Jack Draper opens up about his training schedule ahead of the Queen’s Club Championships

Jack Draper opened his grass-court campaign with a sensational victory over Jenson Brooksby in the first round of the Queen’s Championships. The British No.1 won 93 per cent (27/29) of his first serve points and did not face a break point throughout the match. He earned a 6-3, 6-1 win to reach the second round of the tournament in London.

Jack Draper (via X/ATP)
Jack Draper (via X/ATP)

He has now extended his head-to-head record against the American to 4-0 having defeated him at the Indian Wells in March. After the tie, the 23-year-old revealed that he worked hard to adapt to grass after a long clay-court season:

My preparation has not been unbelievable. I have had a couple of niggles. I was thinking I haven’t played too much on grass either after a long clay-court season, trying to adapt to that surface and it is a challenge. I am enjoying being at home and staying in my own bed.

Draper then took on Alexei Popyrin in the second round after the Australian defeated fellow countryman Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 6(9)-7, 7-6(3) in the first round. A hard-fought three-setter saw the Englishman advance to the quarterfinal.

Also Read: Jack Draper Explains Why Emma Raducanu Chose Carlos Alcaraz Over Him For Dream Link-Up