Jack Draper Hits Out At Rafael Nadal Comparisons: 'Not Right, It's Nuts'
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Jack Draper has recently drawn some comparisons that he would like to avoid, even though he certainly sees them as compliments.
Draper is currently the best left-handed player on the ATP Tour. He won the Indian Wells Open just recently, becoming the first left-handed man to do it since Cameron Norrie won the tournament in 2021.
Before Norrie, the last left-handed champion was a certain Rafael Nadal. It's Nadal who Draper joined in prestigious company by climbing to the World No. 6 position in the latest edition of the ATP Rankings.
Apart from Nadal and Draper, there were no other left-handed players this century who would make it to the Top 6 in the ATP Rankings. Joining Nadal was obviously a huge accomplishment for the Brit, but he doesn't necessarily want to be compared to the legendary Spaniard.
Ahead of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters, Draper spoke to TNT Sports, discussing the recent comparisons made. He admitted that he thinks those comparisons shouldn't be made, considering Nadal's incredible career.
"Being compared to Rafa is not right, to be honest. He's obviously an icon of the game and a 14-time Roland-Garros [winner], it's nuts. I definitely think being a lefty and having that loopy forehand and stuff is pretty similar, but there are definitely areas in my game I need to improve on to get to his standard."
Draper also spoke about his recent success. He is now an ATP Masters 1000 champion, which gave him plenty of confidence to believe that he will be able to win more titles.
"It definitely helps my confidence and helps my belief, winning a tournament as big as that which I've watched since I was young. It definitely fills me with pride and helps me to understand why I do all the hard work, but at the same time, tennis keeps on going, life keeps on going."
"I'm here for another week to improve myself but it gives me a lot of self-belief and a lot of pride to accomplish something I've wanted to do for a long time."
Still, despite Draper's recent success, he is one of the less experienced players on the clay courts. That's why he doesn't have too high expectations before switching to the red dirt, even though he feels that he has a lot to prove.
"I feel like I haven't had too much exposure to clay. A couple of years ago, I got injured so I wasn't able to play too much. Last year, I lost a couple of really close matches to top 10 players, and I wasn't able to get my feet off the ground. This year, I feel better in all areas, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come and what I can do on this surface. I definitely have a lot to prove."
