After reaching his first Masters semi-final in Indian Wells, Jack Draper revealed his previous struggles in the sport, which prompted him to consider ending his career ‘a couple of times.’
The world No.14 beat Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-5, to make it through to the last four on Thursday. It is the best performance by a British player at the tournament since 2021 when Cameron Norrie lifted the title. Draper is yet to drop a set in Indian Wells this year and earlier this week recorded his third win over a top-five player on the Tour by beating Taylor Fritz.
“My tennis has been improving all the time with more experience at the highest level, and I’m gaining more wins against top players like Ben,” the 23-year-old said after beating Shelton.
“Obviously in tennis, you’re in a sport where there is always the next match and you have to prove yourself every time. I feel like I’m never content with anything. I always want to have more wins and more opportunities to play top players.
“I just want to keep on progressing and keep on improving and keep on going for more success.”
Draper has rapidly risen up the rankings over the past 18 months. Last season, he won his first two ATP titles in Stuttgart and Vienna. Between those two tournaments he produced his best result at a Grand Slam by reaching the semi-finals of the US Open. So far this year, he has reached the final of the Doha Open and the last 16 of the Australian Open before his run in Indian Wells.
However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Brit who has endured his fair share of injury setbacks. At this year’s Australian Open, he retired from his fourth round match due to tendinitis in his hip. He has also previously suffered from multiple shoulder injuries which sidelined him from action for six months.
“When I was younger, I was always very small. Then I grew a lot when I was around 15, 16, 17,” Draper explains.
“I think I went through many ups and downs, not just physically but also from a mental standpoint. There were a couple of times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to carry on.
“It’s really difficult coming up through the Futures and the Challengers. It’s brutal. It’s not Wimbledon, it’s not Indian Wells, not coming to these nice places and everything is amazing.
“When I was younger, I was thinking the sport was very different to what was the reality of it.”
The harsh reality of life at the lower-level tournaments proved to be a wake-up call for Draper who realised he had to work hard to succeed. He is coached by James Trotman who has been working with him since 2021. Also in Draper’s team is Physio Shane Annun, strength and conditioning coach Matt Little and coach Alex Ward joins him for 12 weeks of the season to assist Trotman.
“A couple years ago I went through a lot of injuries and I sat at sort of 40 in the world but I was sort of there, not really fully invested,” Draper admits.
“I looked to myself and I thought if I’m going to do this, then I’m gonna have to put in a hell of a lot of work. I’m going to just really take the ups and downs as they come. Look forward and be positive.
“I think from there I got about 16 months of really good stuff and I feel really healthy. I feel good in my mind, feel good in my body. I’m looking forward to hopefully what’s to come.”
As to what’s next for Draper, he will face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells. The world No.3 beat Aggentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6(4), in his latest match. Alcaraz currently leads Draper 3-1 in their head-to-head but two of his wins were via retirement.
