Jack Draper has rapidly gone from hero to zero, with the Indian Wells champion losing his first match at the Miami Open.
Draper had the chance to win the Sunshine Double after superbly triumphing at Indian Wells, where he beat Holger Rune in the final.
But British number one Draper has since fallen to Jakub Mensik in the second round of the Miami Open, having received a bye in round one.
The 23-year-old soared seven places in the ATP rankings following his recent success, climbing from 14th to seventh.
A setback has now been suffered, but Draper was tasked with focusing on matters off the court post-match, concerning the recent legal action from the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA).
Jack Draper shares support ATP Tour after PTPA lawsuit
He shared his honest verdict on the PTPA, which has criticised scheduling, ranking systems and image rights, in an overall ‘blatant disregard for player welfare’.
“I don’t really know anything about it to be honest,” said Draper, as quoted by Sky Sports. “I have had no dealings with anyone from the PTPA.
READ MORE: Tim Henman predicts what could happen to Jack Draper’s forehand after he wins the Indian Wells title
“And yeah, I support the ATP. I don’t know anything about it. I really haven’t looked into it, that is my brutally honest answer.
“I have been too focused on playing. The full week last week, I haven’t had time to look into what any of it means.
“I think the ATP do do a great job of supporting the players and the structures they have put in place, I would support the ATP. I know the people inside and their intentions and I haven’t read anything about it but that’s my opinion.”
Jack Draper disagrees with Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz on injuries
Draper may not be entirely dissatisfied with an early exit at the Miami Open, having been very busy on the courts in recent times.
He will, of course, have been eyeing further success at this exciting stage of his career, but there will be plenty more opportunities for silverware in the near future.
Notably, the British number one has not been immune to injuries throughout his career, having been forced to retire during matches or withdraw from events altogether more often than he would have liked.
His fellow ATP stars Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz have also had their injury issues, with the balls taking centre stage in that regard.
Zverev thinks player health will decline with the current balls, while Alcaraz says the constant changing of balls risks injury.
Entering the debate on the balls causing problems and injuries, Draper said: “I mean I don’t know. I don’t think so.
“Again, I always have this opinion that tennis is so relentless and week to week the people are always going to pick up injuries, no matter what the ball is or what the court is or what anything is. It’s just the nature of tennis.
“It’s so physical and your body isn’t meant to be doing what we’re doing all the time and so we’re going to get injured and people will blame that on the court or the balls and whatever they want to talk about but I mean in my opinion injuries happen because they happen or different surfaces, that’s just the way it goes.”
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