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Jack Draper on what is being said about him which is just ‘not right’ as his new career high ranking is revealed

Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images
Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images
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Jack Draper has gone from strength to strength in recent times, with the Monte-Carlo Masters now on his agenda.

Draper pushed Jakub Mensik all the way at the Miami Open, with the latter having beaten the former in his first match at the event.

It was also the first match for Draper since he won Indian Wells, with the 13th seed having defeated 12th seed Holger Rune in the final.

Tim Henman thinks Draper can now accelerate on his forehand, which has been a key part of the Briton’s recent success.

Draper now focuses on another ATP Masters 1000 event, where the British number one starts in round two.

Jack Draper poses with the Indian Wells trophy after beating Holger Rune in the 2025 final.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Jack Draper says it is ‘not right’ being compared to Rafael Nadal

Handed a bye in round one, the 23-year-old will face the winner of Marcos Giron and Denis Shapovalov in Monaco.

Rafael Nadal has won the event a record 11 times, with Draper drawing comparisons to the legendary figure ahead of his first match.

READ MORE: Jack Draper issues his ‘brutally honest’ reaction to the PTPA’s claim as he disagrees with Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz

It was put to the latter by TNT Sports: “You definitely don’t have the exact same game as Rafael Nadal, but of course this big slice, this big loopy forehand has drawn some comparisons. How did you welcome them?”

Draper responded: “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.”

Miami Open Presented by Itau 2025 - Day 5
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Jack Draper equals Rafael Nadal feat as new career-high ranking confirmed

As he admitted to, the British number one has a long, long way to go to even come close to replicating the feats that Nadal did.

He is still young at 23, but the Spaniard retired last year with 92 ATP Tour titles to his name, including 22 Grand Slam titles.

READ MORE: Rafael Nadal’s response when asked if he could break Pete Sampras’s Grand Slam title record after he won his sixth in 2009

Draper meanwhile has won three ATP titles, with his best Grand Slam finish so far coming at the semi-finals of the 2024 US Open.

He has, however, impressively joined Nadal in another manner thanks to his latest rankings rise, with Draper now occupying a career-high sixth place.

As per Tennis, he is only the second left-handed player this century to reach the top six of the ATP rankings, along with Nadal.