Carlos Alcaraz says what always happens when he plays Jack Draper on the ATP Tour

Follow us on Google Discover

Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper have enjoyed brilliant seasons in 2025 and will head to Wimbledon with real title aspirations.

The British star enjoyed the best week of his career in March when Draper won his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.

As tennis transitioned to clay courts, it was Alcaraz’s turn to sweep up the titles, winning three of the four tournaments he played.

Kicking things off with a win in Monte-Carlo, he quickly added the Italian Open to his collection before Alcaraz defended his Roland Garros crown earlier this month.

Moving on to grass, both Alcaraz and Draper will begin their Wimbledon preparations at the Queen’s Club Championships.

Entering the event as the top two seeds, they could potentially face off in Sunday’s final.

Speaking ahead of his first-round match with Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alcaraz revealed what always happens when he plays Draper on the ATP Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz says he and Jack Draper push each other to the limit when they play on the ATP Tour

During an interview with BBC Sport, Alcaraz gave his verdict on his rivalry with the British number one.

“Jack [Draper] has really high potential. I love him, I love watching him play,” he said.

“I’m really happy to have that rivalry with him. I think every match we’ve played against each other, we raise our level to the top and we push ourselves to the limit all the time.

“I think that’s beautiful for us, for the people, the fans. I’m really happy to have him around; he makes me an even better player.”

Draper and Alcaraz have faced off six times on the ATP Tour, with three of their meetings taking place in the last six months.

Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 4-2, although it was Draper who came out on top when they played at last year’s Queen’s Club Championships.

In straight sets, Draper dismantled the number one seed and heavy favorite to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Spaniard will certainly be hoping for a better showing should they both reach the final of this year’s tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper’s route to the Queen’s final in 2025

Neither player will have an easy route to the final, as several top ten players join them at Queen’s in 2025.

Carlos Alcaraz’s route to the Queen’s title (By ranking)

• 1R – Carlos Alcaraz v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• 2R – Carlos Alcaraz v Jordan Thompson
• QF – Carlos Alcaraz v Ben Shelton
• SF – Carlos Alcaraz v Holger Rune
• F – Carlos Alcaraz v Jack Draper

Whilst Alcaraz would be expected to breeze through his opening two matches, he’ll likely be faced with a tough test in the quarterfinals.

America’s Ben Shelton pushed Alcaraz close at the French Open recently and has already impressed on the grass in 2025.

Losing to Alexander Zverev in the Stuttgart semis, Shelton will be confident of making another deep run in London.

If Alcaraz were to beat Shelton, he could then take on Denmark’s Holger Rune in the semi-finals.

Alcaraz has already lost to Rune in 2025, falling to defeat in the Barcelona Open final, and would no doubt be out for revenge should they meet in the last four of Queen’s.

Jack Draper’s route to the Queen’s title (By ranking)

• 1R – Jack Draper v Jenson Brooksby
• 2R – Jack Draper v Alexei Popyrin
• QF – Jack Draper v Brandon Nakashima
• SF – Jack Draper v Taylor Fritz
• F – Jack Draper v Carlos Alcaraz

Draper will be heavily favored for his opening three matches, but things won’t be quite so easy in the semi-finals.

Taylor Fritz is one of the best grass-court players on tour, and recently added another title to his collection at the Stuttgart Open.

The world number four will be in search of grass title number five at Queen’s and could well put an end to Draper’s run in the process.

Neither Alcaraz nor Draper will want to get too far ahead of themselves, however, as they prepare for their first-round matches on Tuesday, June 17.