Jack Draper admits to feeling somewhat “frustrated” for not having had the opportunity to fight as much as he would have liked on the ATP circuit due to injuries. However, seeing that young people like Alcaraz, Sinner or Rune are achieving what he desires, inspires and motivates him to continue progressing and reach his best level to be there with them.
It is still too early to determine the successors of Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic y Roger Federer. Although for Jack Draper It is a reality that Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner y Holger Rune will dominate the ATP circuit in future years: “The next ‘Big Three’, if you want to call them. “They are going to take this sport”acknowledged in statements to Eurosport. The Briton also confessed to having mixed feelings, since his injuries have not allowed him to take his career on the path he would have liked and seeing his generation mates at the top of him ends up weighing on him a little.
“There are two sides. I’m happy for them because they are great young players and I understand how much you have to put into the sport, especially at a young age. I have enormous respect and admiration for what they are doing. On the other hand, I remember when I was injured shoulder and I was watching Alcaraz play Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and it was frustrating to see a young player achieving incredible things because of the competitor I am“he acknowledged.
Be that as it may, Draper hasn’t done too badly this season. Although it is true that he has fallen from position 42 to 61, the 21-year-old signed his first final ATP and Sofia and reached the round of 16 in the US Open and in Indian Wells. Thus, although he is still far from the results of Alcaraz and company, Draper is clear that his goal is to improve every day to be there one day, taking them as an example of motivation: “I think I can take a lot of inspiration and learn from a lot of things that these guys are doing and that really fuels my desire to be in that position as well. It’s going to be interesting over the next few years if I can stay injury free and do all the right things to see if I can keep up with those guys.”.
Nor is he obsessed with the idea, for example, of winning a Grand Slam. For Draper, classifying a tennis player as good or bad based on whether or not he wins a title major it would not be fair. Thus, he bets more on not anticipating circumstances and living day by day in his learning to achieve his goals. “There are many incredible players who have been and gone and have not won Grand Slam titles. It’s important for me not to look too far ahead. I talk to my coach all the time about what my goals are and all that kind of stuff and the main one that we always come back to is that you can have visions of doing well, but if you’re not putting in the work and doing the right things on a day-to-day basis, it will be difficult to achieve what you want”.
Your main goal in 2024? Finish in the top-20?
“My main goal is to develop my potential. Whether that means being a Grand Slam champion or being in the top five, the top 10 or the top 20, we’ll see. I think my tennis is pretty close to that, but it’s about doing it consistently in competition and staying injury free. I believe in my game, my team and the way I approach things. I can be among the top 20 players by the end of next year if I do things well, so that is my goal and aspiration”, Draper sentence.
2023-12-14 19:51:11
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