Jack Draper defeated Holger Rune to win the Indian Wells title (Image: Getty)
insists he has a lot more to give after clinching the Indian Wells title, while some of his rivals have already ‘maxed out’. The Brit defeated 6-2 6-2 in Sunday’s final to seal the biggest title of his career and move up to seventh in the world rankings.
Many top-level players go their whole career without reaching those heights. But Draper feels that he can go even higher if he irons out certain aspects of his game, which serves as a warning to the six players ahead of him in the pecking order.
“I feel like I belong completely,” said the 23-year-old. “There are a lot of things that can still improve in my game, which is really exciting. I feel like a lot of players maybe, you know, they’ve kind of maxed out in some ways. I feel like I’ve still got a lot to work on and a lot to uncover with my tennis.”
Having won the tournament often termed ‘the fifth slam’, talk has already turned to whether Draper can take the next step and achieve Grand Slam glory.
The Sutton-born talent broke new ground by reaching the semi-finals of the US Open last year, and his next chance to have a pop at one of tennis’s big four titles will come at the French Open in May.
Jack Draper believes he will one day have the chance to fight for a Grand Slam (Image: Getty)
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Draper believes it is inevitable that he will one day get the chance to fight for a Grand Slam. “That’s still obviously something that I’m working towards,” he said. “It’s kind of different in the Slams. It’s five sets, it’s a little bit of a change, but I’m definitely believing more and more that I can compete consistently against top players in the world.
“It would obviously be a huge goal of mine to win a Slam, but at the same time, I know that to get there, all I have to do is just to keep on working, keep on believing in myself and just doing all the right things and that’s going to give myself the best shot of potentially doing that feat.
“I definitely believe that, you know, I’m gonna have the chance in my career to hopefully be on that big stage and to hopefully do that.”
Draper has a quick turnaround to be ready for another Masters 1000 event, the Miami Open, which starts at the end of this week. With hardly any ranking points to defend, Draper could easily find himself ranked as high as fifth if he goes far in Florida.