Britain’s Jack Draper on Sunday turned his childhood dreams into reality at Indian Wells, claiming his maiden Masters 1000 title and catapulting himself into the top 10 for the first time after a rapid ascent through the sport.
The 23-year-old downed Denmark’s Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 in a display of total dominance in the final, after overcoming the twice defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final, and swatting aside top US hopes Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
“I have been watching this tournament since I was a young guy, watching all the champions play on this big court,” said Draper, who would be ranked seventh after picking up the title. “It means the world to me, honestly, to be able to be a champion here.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was only 18 months ago that Draper — then ranked 123rd in the world — emerged as the unlikely hope for British men’s tennis when he defied injury and the odds to reach the fourth round of the 2023 US Open.
He quickly added to his credentials from there, beating Italian Matteo Berrettini for his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart, Germany, in June last year.
Weeks later, he was in the final four at Flushing Meadows, becoming the first British man since Andy Murray in 2012 to reach the US Open semi-finals and he picked up his first ATP Tour 500-level title in October last year in Vienna.
“You dream of winning this stuff when you’re a kid. I think over the years, especially when you’re playing pro and stuff, it kind of gets lost a little bit, because maybe that, you know, when you’re young you think: ‘Oh, I’m just going to rock up and win,’” he told reporters. “It doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to go through many ups and downs and emotions.”
Draper, whose competition schedule earlier this year was limited due to a nagging hip issue, credited his coach with providing a structured approach to help him weather the highs and lows.
“I want to achieve amazing things in this sport, but my main goal is keep on improving and keep on knuckling down,” he said. “I know there is a long way ahead of me. I’m very ambitious. I don’t want to just stop here.”
In the women’s singles final, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva fought back to overcome world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, winning a second consecutive WTA Tour 1000-level event to keep her charmed season on track.
The 17-year-old became the youngest women’s champion at the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999.
Top seed Sabalenka pulled herself out of a slump to bring some of her best tennis to the California desert this year and got off to a hot start, but her form unraveled as the match wore on and she was left to rue missed opportunities.
“After the first set, I just realized that: ‘Oh well, what I do now, it doesn’t work, so I have to change something,’” Andreeva told reporters. “In the second set, I tried to play a little bit more aggressive... I tried to really, I don’t know, create something to make her uncomfortable, and, you know, point by point, game by game, I managed to do that.”
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