Jack Draper is looking to abandon his injury-prone reputation in 2024 as the Brit reflects on the current state of the ATP tour.
The Brit had a rollercoaster season in 2023 as a couple of serious injuries derailed his progress in the first half of the season.
Despite this Draper managed to achieve a place in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at the US Open.
In addition, Draper also reached his first ATP tour final of his career in Sofia, losing to Adrian Mannarino.
Now as Draper looks ahead to next season the Brit is looking to abandon his injury-prone reputation on the ATP tour, “It’s difficult because there’s obviously a lot of athletes out there who have a lot of talent and they don’t put the work in or they rely on their skills, and they don’t have great programme or people around them,” Draper said to James Gray of the i newspaper in an exclusive interview.
“But I’ve always worked really hard, I’ve always tried to do the right things for my body, whether that’s diet or looking after what I’m doing off the court or on the court as well. I’m in a great place and I’m hoping that Mr Injured is behind me now.”
In order to do this, Draper has hired South African specialist Steve Kotze who has worked with the likes of Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Laura Robson in the past.
Should Draper fix his physical faults then he will be well on track to competing alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of the game.
Speaking on the rivalry at the top of the ATP tour, Draper said that he is confident he can compete with the duo in a couple of years time, “I want to be competing with those two,” Draper explained.
“I see myself being right up there with them. It’s just my past been a little bit different. I’ve had certain things that have held me back, whether it be injury, or Covid or other stuff. I feel like they’ve had maybe three or four years on the tour at a high level to build up their experience, their physical [side] and just how they go about business on the tour.
“So that’s where they’re different to me, they’ve just got more exposure to that level and more experience. And I’ve just got to accept that with the stuff I’ve had, that’s happened for a reason. I’ve had a lot of time to work on my body and accept where I’m at with things.
“I’ve no doubt that in the next couple of years, I want to be right up there with them. Patience is obviously a really important thing.”
There’s no doubt, Draper has the skill to be one of the best players in the world it’s just now about maintaining physical consistency as he looks for a breakthrough season in 2024.
