last halloween, jack draper He was en route to winning the humble Bergamo Challenger and improving his ranking from 91st to 82nd.
As this year’s pumpkin carving begins, Draper has collected another trophy in another big city in Europe, but this time it was the much more prestigious Vienna Open and he woke up this morning ranked 15th in the world.
After winning the biggest title of her career by defeating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, Draper pledged that 2025 would be the year of the hunt. Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner.
He also looked back on Bergamo and when asked what fueled his remarkable growth in the 12 months since, he answered anger.
‘Tennis is cruel,’ said the 22-year-old. ‘I was injured for a few months and fell down the rankings completely, so I came back to the Challengers. I was angry. I wasn’t happy with where I was. I worked hard, but things didn’t go well.
Jack Draper (photo) won the Vienna Open by defeating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5.
Draper, 22, rose to No. 15 in the world rankings after winning the tournament in Austria.
Winning the Vienna Open marks the biggest win of Draper (left) of his career to date.
‘I got a lot of motivation from watching the players at these big events and I knew that if I could put my body and mind in a good place, my tennis would be good enough to play against the best players in the world.
‘I won my first title in Stuttgart and it’s been a snowball effect since then.’
Victory in Stuttgart in June made Draper England No.1, but as Andy Murray almost angrily noted, becoming the best player on the island is far from the limit of young Jack’s ambitions.
He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. Although halted due to vomiting and an attack from the eventual champion, Sinner, here was another milestone. It was his second ATP title at the 500 level, just below the Masters event.
‘The US Open was a big thing that gave me the belief that I belong at the highest level and that I am good enough to compete with the best players in the world and win this match. I visualized these moments and really tried to believe that I was good enough to be here.’
Draper is a humble soul, but that quiet self-belief is growing every week. With the season nearing its end, Draper will look to close out the year after this week’s Paris Masters, where he will play Czech Republic’s Jiri Reheka on Tuesday. He looked ahead to 2025.
‘I’m really happy with my progress this year. I’ll focus on that next week, and then I’m looking forward to taking some time off and not thinking about tennis. It’s been a long year and a lot has been taken from me.
‘I will fight with renewed energy next year with even greater motivation to go after the players at the top of their game like Sinner and Alcaraz.’
As Draper said, his body has taken several hits during virtually his first full season on tour and the title looked unlikely after suffering an abdominal injury in Tokyo last month.
But he played his way all week and as the final approached, it was all too good for Khachanov, who won his eighth straight title after winning in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Down 5-4 in the first set, Draper effectively took control of the match, scoring 20 of the next 23 points and winning five straight games. Khachanov fought a good rearguard, but Draper was blocked at 5-5.
Draper wants to spotlight some of tennis’ biggest stars, including Carloz Alcarez and Jannik Sinner.
‘I knew it was healthy coming here, but I didn’t really know what my body was like,’ Draper admits. ‘I’m really proud of what I achieved this week.’
In the semifinals against Lorenzo Musetti, Draper used a big forehand to slam the Italian’s one-handed backhand. Then, against Khachanov, he performed a volte face that redirected the shot to the Russian’s forehand wing.
Executing such a variety of game plans in back-to-back games shows how clearly Draper is thinking now and how expertly his team, led by coach James Trottman, is constructing its tactics.
World No. 24 Karen Khachanov (pictured) played a sound game in Vienna, but Draper was too much for the Russian.
‘I’m looking forward to just focusing on next week and then taking some time off and not thinking about tennis,’ Draper said after winning the Vienna Open.
The first serve was surprisingly good. It had a success rate of 69% and a success rate of 80%. From what Draper later said, it sounds like the tweaks to his service motion made under the auspices of Wayne Ferreira when he briefly joined the coaching team this summer have been abandoned.
‘My serve has really improved in the last month or so,’ Draper said. ‘I made a few changes and they weren’t working, so I practiced throwing, worked on my rhythm and found the real gold (method). I hope I can keep it consistent.’
The tinkering continues. It’s an adjustment to the mind, game and body, a gradual progression towards the highest level.
It was another important stage in Draper’s career, and once this week’s Paris event is complete, he will look ahead to 2025 with great anticipation.
