Jack Draper has explained how his body is feeling after a gruelling start to his Australian Open campaign.
The British number one is into the third round at Melbourne Park, but he had to do it the hard way.
The 23-year-old needed five sets to defeat both Mariano Navone and Thanasi Kokkinakis to keep his campaign alive.
These matches have been particularly hard on Draper’s body, especially given he withdrew from the United Cup before the first Grand Slam of the season.
What did Jack Draper say about this fitness at the Australian Open?
Jack Draper played 61 matches in what was a very congested 2024 season and stayed relatively injury-free. However, the World number 15’s 2025 season started with injury as he pulled out of the United Cup with a hip injury.
Therefore, the Australian Open is Draper’s first tournament of the season, which is a tough tournament to compete in after an injury.
Despite the concerns around his fitness before entering the major, Draper feels good as he prepares for his third round encounter.
“I feel good. My body felt good. I didn’t cramp. My body felt amazing, considering,” he told reporters. “I haven’t done an awful lot. I think, again, like I said, I’ve built so much work over a long period of time now.
“I think the step was mentally to be able to sort of be relaxed and be calm and know that I’ve put in all the hard work. All that’s been done.
“I’m ready. Now it’s just kind of how I recover and all that sort of stuff. I think especially at the slams, most of it is mental, yeah.”
Who will Jack Draper play next?
Draper battled past home favourite Kokkinakis at the Australian Open and if he wants to reach the last 16, he will have to do it again.
The Brit will take on Aleksandar Vukic, who upset Sebastian Korda to reach the third round. He will certainly have the fans on his side when they do battle inside Margaret Court Arena on Friday.
Draper knows what it takes to overcome a hostile crowd in Australia, as he had some fun with them while playing Kokkinakis on Wednesday. He will aim to keep them quiet when he takes on Vukic for the first time.
“I think sometimes you don’t want to sort of rile them or give it back. But to be fair, it gave me energy doing that,” Draper said of the crowd.
“There were times where I was down, then I come through a tough game. And I was feeling it a little bit. It gave me energy giving it back a little bit. It’s just a bit of fun. They are saying stuff at me. It’s nice to sort of just give it like a bit of an ear or something like that.”
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