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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday January 17, 2025
Jack Draper is becoming an expert at weathering the Grand Slam storm. Playing in his 11th major, the Brit has cut his teeth in myriad ways over the past four seasons.
He has dealt with the pressure of being a top prospect at Wimbledon, where he is the focal point of the British press during the Wimbledon fortnight, and he has dealt with the animosity that comes from foreign crowds at venues like Roland-Garros, the US Open and the Australian Open.
In the second round Draper had to put up with a raucous atmosphere that was decidedly against him as he struggled through five sets with Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. It’s easy by young players to get rattled by the cacophony, and the derisive cheers and the catcalls between serves, but rather than whine Draper is embracing the experience. It’s part of the reason that he was able to pass muster and come through in five electric sets against Kokkinakis.
“It was amazing,” he said after that win, which was his second five-set win of the three he has notched in succeession at this year’s Australian Open. “Obviously, electric atmosphere. Obviously getting quite a lot of abuse from the crowd in between the serves, the back of the court and all that sort of stuff.”
Not to worry, Draper says, he kind of likes it, as it helps get his competitive juices flowing.
“I think sometimes you don’t want to sort of rile them or give it back. But to be fair, it gave me energy doing that. There were times where I was down, then I came through a tough game. And I was feeling it a little bit. It gave me energy giving it back a little bit. It’s just a bit of fun.”
A Huge Step Forward
Another reason for Draper’s success at the majors, where he has now won eight of his last nine matches? His physicality. Once considered vulnerable, injury prone and maybe even a little cursed, Draper is now proving that – for him, at least – with maturity comes resilience.
He expressed relief about the situation while talking to reporters on Thursday night in Melbourne.
“I think it’s been really difficult the last few years with question marks over long matches and backing up performances with long matches,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m playing my best tennis. Obviously I’ve had a tough preparation. But if anything, I’m really proud of my mentality, my body, and the way I competed.”
Draper, who defeated Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, 6-4 2-6 5-7 7-6(5) 7-6(8), in the third round on Friday night, says it is massive to see the hard yards paying off.
“It’s a huge step forward,” he said. “It’s difficult. I’ve been working physically a lot for a long time. When people say, ‘Oh, you’re not fit enough’ and all of this sort of stuff, yeah, it’s a part of it.” Draper explained that the myriad elements that come with the Grand Slam experience were a drain on his energy during his early years on tour. But now he is getting the hang of things.
According to ATP Media, Draper is the seventh man in history to win their first three rounds at the Australian Open in five sets. He joins Adrian Mannarino (2024), Dominik Hrbaty (2006), Thomas Johansson (2005), Felix Mantilla (2003), Nicolas Lapentti (1999) and Steve Denton (1981).
“As a young player, when you come into these big events and you have to deal with the media, the crowds, you’re playing tournaments you’ve dreamed of playing since you were young, and you are expected to do well and all this sort of stuff,” he said, adding:
“I would say it was a bit too much for me at the start. I feel like especially at the back end of last year I built a lot of confidence in myself, a lot of belief. I think winning the titles and making the semis of the US Open, it just gave me that sort of security in my mind that I’m good enough and that I’m doing the right things. It has given me a calmness as well.”
Once thought of as vulnerable physically, Draper is slowly but surely demonstrating his iron man chops.
“I think obviously there’s always been that sort of question mark in my head over five-set matches, and am I able to do it?” he said. “You know, from a mental part of side of things and physical as well, is my body going to hold up? I’ve been putting in a lot of work in general over time.”
The Brit, who faces Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round, says having injuries and issues have helped him drill down on the problem.
“It seems like maybe by having that time off with my hip, I was able to focus on working on a few different things. I was working a lot with a breathing coach and just trying to understand that a bit better. I’ve always had problems with my sinuses. So I think that’s really helping. I just think in general staying a lot calmer and just, yeah, not being too uptight. I think that’s helping me to go for longer.”
