Jack Draper says he has proven to his critics that he can compete against the best players in the world on clay following his run at the Madrid Open.
The world No.5 scored wins over Matteo Berrettini, Tommy Paul, Matteo Arnaldi and Lorenzo Musetti in the Spanish capital to reach his first Masters 1000 final on the surface. He narrowly missed out on the title after losing in three sets to Casper Ruud. Draper is only the second British man to have reached the finals of a Masters event on both clay and clay since the format was introduced in 1990. Andy Murray was the first to do so.
“I think there were a couple of moments where I didn’t feel like his level really dropped off, apart from maybe a couple of double-faults he threw in,” Draper said of his final clash against Ruud.
“Whereas mine in a couple of stages in the matches just dipped a little bit and that was
the difference. You can’t do that, especially at this level against that kind of caliber of player, especially on the clay.
“I thought there was a lot of good stuff but just in a couple of key moments, I felt like his level maintained and mine maybe just dipped off a little bit.”
Before playing Madrid, Draper had yet to win three consecutive matches on the clay (at the ATP level) or beat a top 30 player on the surface. This drew the inevitable criticism from some about his game. However, he always believed he could prove his credentials on the clay.
“People say: ‘Oh, I’m not very good on the clay.’ Whereas I knew I was good on the clay,” said Draper. “I had a couple of really tight losses last year, and I just needed to get my foot in the door somewhere to show that I’m able to compete to a really high level on this surface. I think this week has shown that, and it’s shown it to myself, shown it to others.”
With a win-loss record of 19-5 so far this season, the 23-year-old is one of the most in-form players on the men’s Tour at the moment. Earlier this year he won his biggest title yet at the Miami Open and was a finalist at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He has won 23 out of his last 26 matches against players ranked outside the top 10. One of those defeats was to Ruud who was ranked 15th at the time of their meeting but has risen back up the ranks to seventh place on Monday.
Draper hopes to continue his momentum into the French Open which will begin later this month. He is yet to win a main draw match at the Grand Slam.
“I’m really proud of the way I’ve been the first few months of this season,” Draper reflected.
“I think the exciting thing is there’s so much more to come from myself. I feel like there’s still areas of my game that I can really improve, and that’s very motivating for me, my coach and my team.
“I honestly feel like I’m at the start of my journey. So I’m going to keep on improving and keep on pushing hard and keep these sort of tough moments (losing the Madrid final) in my head to keep on driving myself to be better.”
Draper will next play at the Italian Open which will get underway later this week and sees the return of world No.1 Jannik Sinner following a three-month suspension for an anti-doping violation.
