Draper confesses his biggest complex: "I felt that other players were looking at me and.."
The British player talks about his tendency to get injured and the lesson he learned at this last Australian Open: "It showed me what my body could endure".
We are starting the month of March and Jack Draper has only played three tournaments all year. In addition to reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and the final in Doha, he now adds the Indian Wells Masters 1000, where he overcame the first round by defeating Joao Fonseca (6-4, 6-0) yesterday. And why so little activity? The usual, injuries. The British player admits to having a delicate physique, though he is gradually gaining strength, consistency, and, above all, confidence in himself. Anything to get rid of the label of being a frail and unreliable player. His latest press conference is a good example to understand his perspective on this matter.
Victory over Fonseca
"Joao has many eyes on him right now, he is a young player causing quite a stir. I expected a tough match and it was, although the score might suggest otherwise. I felt that in the first set we were playing very good tennis, both hitting powerful shots, it was difficult to foresee the match's script. Towards the end of the first set, I felt my energy gather, tactically, I became aware of many more things, so I managed to overcome him more comfortably in the second set. I am very proud of my performance, pleased with how I handled the situation and everything else."
High level of tennis in his comeback
"I am not surprised by this result, but what did surprise me was my result in Australia, as I arrived without a preseason, unable to train. I ended 2024 with a good trajectory, building my confidence and winning many matches, feeling that I had finally found my game plan, the way I want to keep improving. Unfortunately, I couldn't progress further due to the injury, so I was sidelined. When I went to Australia, I noticed that my tennis was poor, I felt awful, but overcoming those matches gave me a lot of mental toughness, it showed me what my body can endure physically, which was very good. I knew all I had to do was come back and train, condition my entire body to achieve quality on the court, improve my daily consistency. What I need now is to play matches and hopefully win them. Doha gave me that."
Deliberate schedule post-injury
"I expected to play more than I have, this is my third tournament, but the decision not to play Dubai or the Davis Cup after Australia was based on my injury at the end of December. It was a fairly serious injury, one that I will have to take care of for the rest of my career. It is important to plan a correct schedule, I know tennis is a relentless sport, especially now with Indian Wells, Miami, and then the rest of the year. The main thing I want to do when playing is to do it well and compete hard, I hope that is the formula to go deep in tournaments."
A label he wants to shake off
"I have put 100% of my mind and body since I arrived on the circuit, but I was always scared of playing long matches. I am human, I don't like feeling uncomfortable, but it's something I have to get used to if I want to be a top-level player. I have to endure the pain and many other adversities of matches. I think I have improved in this, but there was still a little question mark hanging over me, especially when I saw other players competing for five hours and not experiencing cramps. Leaving Australia after those matches was positive mentally, emotionally, and physically. It gave me the confidence that I can do it, that I am strong. I hope to start building a reputation as someone who won't get hurt or is unfit to compete. I want to be strong, competitive, and have no weaknesses in my game. This was an area where I felt other players were watching me and expecting me to end up exhausted."
His hip, a point to take care of until the end of his career
"Every athlete has areas of their body they need to work on more than others, it all depends on how you move and your bodily functions. I have had several injuries with my hip, it has been a weak area since I was young, so I had to work a lot on it. I have broken it several times, that's why I felt that question mark after every surgery. Now it all depends on how I handle each situation when my body is weakened or I haven't had that burden. If I can do things right and focus on my health, I know nothing will stop me from moving forward. On the other hand, in sport, we never know what can happen, what awaits around the corner. I will do everything possible to keep protecting this area, strengthening it, we'll see how it goes in the future."
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Draper confiesa su mayor complejo: “Sentía que otros jugadores me miraban y…”