Jack Draper continued his fantastic season at the Madrid Open, where he lost in the final to Casper Ruud.
Ruud labelled Draper ‘unbelievable’ after beating him in the Madrid Open final, which the Norwegian won 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
Rafael Nadal has congratulated Ruud on his first ATP Masters 1000 title, which represents the 13th ATP title of his career.
He has stormed eight places up the world rankings to seventh with the success, with Draper climbing one spot to fifth.
That represents a career-high for the British number one, who along with Ruud now turns his focus to the Italian Open.
Emma Raducanu explains how she is different to Jack Draper
Draper’s fellow Briton Emma Raducanu also took on the Madrid Open, where she fell in the second round.
She has, however, since shared her delight at Draper’s fantastic rise, telling Sky Sports Tennis: “It’s amazing to see what he’s achieved and how much he’s done.
“I know he’s a great tennis player, and he is, you know, such a big stature that he can take the game out of anyone’s hands.
“So for him to kind of dominate like he has been is really cool to see. I think we are two very separate and different people though. I think we both have gone through our own journey. Mine is very different as well to his.
“I think I didn’t necessarily go through everything super organically and the natural way of doing things so I think now I’m just, I guess working on coming back and working on the things that I can do day to day, but yeah credit to him, he’s done a great job.”
What Katie Boulter wants to ask Jack Draper when they next meet
Unsurprisingly, Draper occupies number one spot in the British men’s tennis rankings, followed by Jacob Fearnley in second.
Raducanu meanwhile is second in the women’s list, with Katie Boulter occupying top spot at this moment in time.
And she is also delighted at how Draper has been performing lately, with the world number five having won the Indian Wells title earlier this year.
“The first thing I do when I see him, I’m going to ask him how to play on clay, because some of the tennis that he’s been putting out recently has been so impressive to see,” Boulter told Sky Sports Tennis.
| Women’s | Rank | Men’s |
| Katie Boulter | 1 | Jack Draper |
| Emma Raducanu | 2 | Jacob Fearnley |
| Sonay Kartal | 3 | Cameron Norrie |
| Harriet Dart | 4 | Billy Harris |
| Francesca Jones | 5 | Jan Choinski |
“I mean, just seeing him so established. We’re talking about making finals in two Masters within the space of a month, that’s already so impressive, let alone to have one title and get your first one.
“More than anything, I think it helps people believe that it can be them. When you see people around you in your environment doing extremely well, then you ask yourself the question, why it can’t be you. And you know, why it can’t be anyone there.
“So I think that is the biggest thing about it, obviously super happy for him and for those who are doing well, and it’s great to see that we’re on the up. It just means that you have to keep improving yourself.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
