Draper on Indian Wells return: 'I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel I could go all the way'
Much has changed for Jack Draper in the past 12 months. Last year, the British lefty won the biggest title of his career at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz and then Holger Rune in the final to triumph.
This year’s arrival in the California desert carries a different context. Draper is competing in just his second ATP Tour event since the US Open last August, after struggling with a left arm injury for the past eight months. The 24-year-old made his return to the ATP Tour last week in Dubai, where he defeated Quentin Halys he lost to Arthur Rinderknech.
[NO 1 CLUB]Despite the limited match play, Draper is not lowering expectations at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.
“I feel like I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be in the tournament if I didn’t feel like I could go all the way again,” Draper said in his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “That was probably the primary reason I didn’t go out to Australia, just purely because if I’m going to enter a tournament, I’m going to be in the event, I want to feel like I can be physically ready to not just take part but to go all the way, because I believe in my tennis so much that when I get out there. I know that I can play some great stuff.”
While sidelined, Draper has used his time away to build. The No. 14 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is hopeful the work he has done will benefit him in the months to come, with a key priority on staying healthy.
“I’m just very grateful to be back on the court, to be back on the Tour,” Draper said. “I’m feeling like I have improved a lot as a player over the last eight months, but I do recognise that I have been away from the game, and it is a bit of a step up in level to just come straight back to it after that amount of time out of the game. So let’s see what happens.
“I’m sort of not overthinking things too much. My main priority is looking after my body, making sure that when I’m able to hit the match court that I’m fully prepared for what’s to come, and I always believe in my tennis, so let’s see how far I can go.”
Having previously dealt with injury setbacks, Draper says experience has helped him better manage his return.
“I know from some of the injuries I have had in the past I have made mistakes coming back too early, and I think when you do come back too early, you can lose a lot of trust in your body. I haven’t had the sort of injury where I have not been able to be on court at all. I have been able to practice, been able to still get the reps in over a long period of time.
“I just haven’t been able to get to the point where I’m able to play at the highest intensity I want and go back to back as I’ve wanted and as I want to do on the Tour to make it again to be a top player. I don’t have any fear around my arm. I know that I’ve got great people around me. I’ve got good experience of it now, and so I just want to make sure that I’m doing all the right things to be able to just go week after week and stay on the Tour.”
There has also been a visible change since fans last saw him lift the trophy in Indian Wells, a fresh buzz cut marking what he describes as a reset.
“There is nothing like a buzz cut,” Draper said. “Honestly, you don’t have to do anything… I have just been out for a long period of time. Eight months is difficult. Especially in an individual sport, you become quite isolated. There is a lot of difficult moments, and when you come out of that and you start to feel better within yourself. [I] just fancied a fresh start.”
Draper will open against Fabian Marozsan or Roberto Bautista Agut and could meet Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
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