Jack Draper has been doing a lot of work on his breathing as he prepares for a fifth career ATP final.
The British number one defeated Jiri Lehecka in three sets to reach the final in Doha where he will face Andrey Rublev.
It will be his fifth career ATP final as he searches for a third title after titles in Stuttgart and Vienna last season.
After an incredible 2024 season which saw him climb to a new career high ranking of 15 in the world, Draper has continued the good work as he has improved his physicality a lot.
Having reached the second week of the Australian Open playing four consecutive five set matches, Draper has continued that theme in Doha by coming through some brutal three set contests.
The main improvement from Draper has come from the work he has done on his breathing in the off-season, “Historically, I had a lot of problems with my sinuses when I was younger, and I suppose in tennis, in sport, we’re always trying to look for the small percentages. I’ve realised over time that of course I need to focus on my physical improvements,” Draper told the ATP website in an exclusive interview.
“That’s got better, and my physicality and everything has got better, but I felt like still sometimes I would get out of breath, or when I’m a bit anxious, I’d really struggle still. So I started to look into more of the other reasons potentially why and one of them was I’ve always had problems with my sinuses, so could it be that my breathing is maybe non-efficient? I realised that I was a real mouth breather, and so I looked into how I could start to maybe change functionally the way I breathe.
“At the end of the day, if you’re out of breath, or if you’re anxious or stressed, then you have to have ways of being able to calm yourself down. If you can calm yourself down, and if you can stay in the present, you’re more able to focus on what you’re actually doing, instead of just getting back to feeling okay. That obviously helps massively mentally. You’re just not fighting yourself as much, and you know that you can do it.
“There are still lots of improvements to come, but I worked a lot on trying to breathe through my diaphragm and my nose instead of breathing through my mouth, because you can’t get enough oxygen in that way. So especially when we’re out on court and we’re playing long points and it’s hot and stressful, it’s just trying to learn how to breathe more efficiently for your body to work at a high level.”
It’s not just the actual breathing that Draper has improved in as the British number one has also managed to develop routines in order to help limit unforced errors in his game.
This has helped his technical game significantly as he is now one of the most consistently aggressive players in both defensive and attacking play.
Draper outlined those changes and previewed his final with Rublev, “It’s something that I’m just more aware of the whole time. It’s like a way of trying to remain present. I think the best players in the world, they’re able to be present more of the time than others and not let the winning points and the unforced errors and all that affect them so much,” the Brit explained.
“It’s just, ‘We keep going, keep going, keep going’. I think that stuff, and along with other things like my routines, just makes me stay in the present more, and I’m able to compete better for every point.
“I believe at this level, if you’re not fully on your game, then you can lose any match. So even though I’m feeling good about my tennis, I have had a bit of a difficult couple of months with an injury. But I’m getting my level back on the practice court, and I’m feeling good about my body and my mind. I think I just need competition.”
Rublev currently leads the head-to-head 3-0 heading into Saturday’s clash.
