Jack Draper makes honest admission about comparisons to fellow lefty Rafael Nadal
Jack Draper became the second player in this century to reach No.6 in the ATP rankings after Rafael Nadal as a left-hander.
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Jack Draper, Rafael Nadal (Image via X/BNP Paribas, Forbes)
Jack Draper knows that to be compared to tennis legend Rafael Nadal, he has to toil hard and produce strong and consistent performances. Draper is a left-hander just like Nadal and reached a career-high ranking of World No.6 on Monday.
This made him the only second left-handed ATP player to climb to the sixth position on the rankings table following the Spaniard in the century. Draper was No.7 last week and despite not playing any tournament since the Miami Open, he reached the sixth position because Casper Ruud dropped points by not playing in Estoril.
Being compared to Rafa isn’t fair, to be honest. He’s a tennis icon who’s won Roland Garros 14 times, it’s crazy. I definitely think being left-handed and having that looping forehand and all that, it’s quite similar, but there are definitely areas in my game I need to improve on to reach his level.
Jack Draper said during an interview with Discovery (H/T: We Love Tennis)
A 22-time Grand Slam champion, the former World No.1, spent 209 weeks at the top of the rankings. He bade his farewell to tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup after Spain lost their quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands.
Jack Draper says winning the Indian Wells boosted his confidence
Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career when he breezed past Holger Rune in the Indian Wells final. En route to the summit clash, the 23-year-old had also eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
It was Draper’s first trophy since lifting his career’s second title at the Vienna Open last year. Following his win in Vienna, Draper suffered a hip injury. After recovering from it, he made it to the last 16 of the Australian Open (his best in the tournament) but gave a walkover to Alcaraz.
Draper then made it to the Qatar Open final which he lost to Andrey Rublev and since that campaign, he didn’t look back. After winning the Indian Wells title, Draper finally breathed a sigh of relief.
[Winning Indian Wells] is big, big belief, big confidence. It’s weird. I felt like I’d been building towards moments like that one for a while, especially at the end of last year. I was really building a level, and I was improving and getting better, then getting better and better each week and getting more confident.
Jack Draper told The Guardian
Draper, however, failed to complete the Sunshine Double. He squared off against eventual winner Jakub Mensik and was defeated in straight sets which included a pair of tie-breaks.
Jack Draper will face Marcos Giron to kickstart his Monte Carlo Masters campaign
In his opening round match at the Monte Carlo Masters, Jack Draper will be locking horns with Marcos Giron who beat Denis Shapovalov in the previous round. Draper has met the American twice, winning both matches. They faced each other in the 2024 Australian Open first round and the 2024 Stuttgart Open fourth round.
Last year in The Principality, the Brit succumbed to a three-set defeat in his first match of the tournament against Hubert Hurkacz. On the clay swing overall, Draper could reach just one quarterfinal in the six events he played last year. He had progressed to the last eight of the Bavarian International which he lost to Taylor Fritz.
If Draper reaches the third round in Monaco, he could face Ben Shelton and in the quarterfinals, he may set up a clash with two-time French Open finalist and last year’s Monte Carlo Masters runner-up Casper Ruud. Draper is projected to meet Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal and Novak Djokovic in the final.
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