Why Jack Draper's junior rivals knew he was destined for stardom?

  • Posted: Sep 06, 2024

It was 6:41 p.m. on Wednesday evening when Jack Draper sat in the media garden at the US Open for an interview with Sky Sports. The sun was setting in the background above the tournament’s main row of practice courts. But the star that is Draper was rising and continues to soar higher than ever in New York.

Tim Henman, the former British No. 1 and a six-time major semi-finalist, sat next to the 22-year-old, who had just earned his first trip to the last four of a Grand Slam tournament. Henman handed Draper a bucket hat covered with the British flag. It was not the passing of the torch — that went from Henman to former World No. 1 Andy Murray — but it was a fitting moment between two of the best British tennis players in recent memory.

When Draper finished the interview, he stood up and was greeted by another legend, John McEnroe, who was excited to see his fellow lefty. The two posed for a picture. When Draper made it back to the players’ lounge, he snapped a photo with another all-time great, Andre Agassi. Draper was wearing sneakers made famous by the American.

One year ago, Draper broke through in New York and reached the fourth round at a major for the first time. At the time, he was World No. 123 after struggling with injury.

Now the Briton is through to the semi-finals of a Slam without losing a set and is up to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Based on the love he is receiving from many in the tennis world and the efforts he has been producing on court, this seems to be just the beginning.

# # #

Draper’s talent has been clear since he was a teen. The pinnacle of his junior career came in July 2018, when he showed both his ability and grit.

In a span of two weeks, he played a top junior from the time, Tristan Boyer, who is less than a year older than Draper.

“I was Top 10 in juniors going into Wimbledon. I go to [a tournament before that at] Roehampton, I see Draper first round and British guys are always tough on grass,” Boyer said. “But I was like, ‘Alright this guy hasn’t really been around, I’m Top 10’. I was pretty confident, and he tuned me up one and two at Roehampton. I didn’t have a chance.” 

The American recalls Draper playing big and serving well, both trademarks of his game today. A week later, Boyer had another opportunity to face Draper at Wimbledon, where all the pressure was on the home favourite.

It was not an easy match, and Boyer remembers Draper standing during changeovers in the third set due to cramp, but the lefty found a way through 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-5.

“It was a tight match. He just played better than me in the third,” Boyer recalled. “I think that I was going [with] almost everything to his backhand and now his backhand is like a rock. It’s ridiculous. I was watching a little bit of him versus [Tomas] Machac [at the US Open] and he was so solid with his backhand. It’s really, really good.”

After beating Lorenzo Musetti in the next round in three sets, Draper played the most memorable match of his junior career. The lefty needed four hours and 23 minutes to oust Colombian Nicolas Mejia 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 19-17 in the semi-finals.

“I think that that match for me, it’s one of the most [memorable] matches of my life,” Mejia said. “First of all, it was the farthest stage I got into into a Slam in the juniors. It was also against a British player in Wimbledon. We were playing unbelievable tennis. It was a crazy, big level in that match.

“I think that’s maybe one of the craziest junior matches in a Grand Slam. It went so much into the distance. It was in the semi-finals, we just had a huge battle. And it’s a very cool thing that I was able to be part of.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/06/13/36/draper-mejia-wimbledon.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Jack Draper and Nicolas Mejia” />
Jack Draper and Nicolas Mejia after their Wimbledon classic. Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images.
Draper lost the final to Chun-Hsin Tseng, but the tournament was proof that the Briton is willing to scratch and claw, no matter how long it takes.

Mejia faced Draper several times and they even played doubles together as they embarked on their professional careers, spending time together everywhere from Mexico to Italy. Mejia said: “I think he’s an amazing person, and I’m really happy to have a nice friendship with him.”

What stands out the most is not necessarily his game, but his competitiveness and effort off the court.

“I think one of the biggest things that he has is the way he competes and he handles all the difficult moments in matches,” Mejia said. “He has a lot of passion. He does everything around tennis with a lot of passion, not only on court, but off court. That’s something that you know he does really well, and the results are reflecting given the professionalism that he has in his day-to day life.”

[ATP APP]

# # #

As Draper climbed the PIF ATP Rankings, he showed plenty of flashes of his potential. The lefty earned his first ATP Tour main draw win at The Queen’s Club in 2021 against the man he will face in the US Open semi-finals, Jannik Sinner.

The game has been there, but over the past few years he has struggled with various injuries, including his shoulder last year. But despite those setbacks, the Briton’s determination helped him persevere through tough times in which it was difficult to envision him finding his way through.

“I’ve been working so hard for such a long time now. I’d say last year was a real turning point for me, when I had my injury setbacks and taking a lot of time off over the summer because of my shoulder injury,” Draper said. “I had to sort of watch all these young, amazing players winning amazing tournaments. I’m playing on the biggest stage in the world and I felt like I just wasn’t doing enough to get to that point myself.

“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me. I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come. I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.”

Before matches at the US Open Draper has been visiting his court earlier in the day to take a look before it is full of fans. This has included Arthur Ashe Stadium, onto which he will walk Friday afternoon for the biggest match of his life.

When players walk onto the court they immediately see a plaque with a quote from Billie Jean King, after whom the venue his named. “Pressure is a privilege”.

Draper is embracing that, and needs to continue doing so to capture the ultimate Grand Slam glory.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Source link