Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career at the 2024 Vienna Open, and he mentioned Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz while talking up his ambitions for 2025.
The 22-year-old's immense talent has been evident for some time, but his form in the last few months, in particular, secured his place as one of the sport's best young players.
Draper won his maiden ATP Tour title in June on grass at the Stuttgart Open against Matteo Berrettini, a former Wimbledon runner-up. The Briton triumphed 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 after a thrilling battle.
That was followed by reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open a few months later. His run in New York came to an end with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 loss to the world No. 1 and eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
Draper produced more outstanding tennis in Vienna. After overcoming the veteran Kei Nishikori in the opening round, he hit 15 aces in his round-of-16 victory against Luciano Darderi.
The Stuttgart Open champion needed three sets against Tomas Machac to reach the semifinals. Draper then played his best match of the tournament to triumph 6-2, 6-4 against the Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti.
That set up a final meeting with Karen Khachanov, who won last week's Almaty Open in Kazakhstan. But Draper proved too good once again for his opponent and obtained the first ATP 500 title of his career by beating him 6-4, 7-5.
Draper will compete at the last Masters 1000 tournament of the season, the Paris Masters. That means his year is not quite finished yet, but 2024 has been a breakthrough season for him regardless.
However, the Briton is not satisfied with his achievements this season. Speaking after defeating Khachanov, he outlined his ambition to shake things up at the top of men's tennis with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
"I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year. I’ll focus on next week and then I’m going to look forward to having a bit of time off and probably not thinking about tennis. It has been a long year and it has taken a lot out of me."
"And then I’ll refresh and I’ll go again for next year with even bigger motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game – the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz. If I can keep on improving physically and keep on getting more and more experience at this higher level against top players then I’m going to give myself a shot to hopefully be competing with those guys."
Draper also mentioned how great he felt after winning the biggest title of his career, saying it was a reward for continuing to work hard through the ups and downs of a long tennis season.
"It feels incredible, it’s been such an amazing week for me. I’ve played some amazing tennis and I keep on improving and that’s the main thing. It’s been a long year for me with many ups and downs. I knew if I kept on working consistently well with the team then I’m going to keep on having great results."
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