Jack Draper finds himself with a huge challenge at Wimbledon ahead of the competition even getting underway, having been handed a very tricky draw.
Draper is in the same half of the Wimbledon draw as Novak Djokovic, a seven-time champion, and Jannik Sinner, the ATP number one.
Djokovic signalled his Wimbledon intentions early, with the Serbian in London looking to equal Roger Federer’s record eight titles.
And Sinner is still chasing a first Wimbledon title, but he did manage to successfully defend his Australian Open title earlier this year.
Draper meanwhile is taking on the main draw at the All England Club for the fourth time in his career, entering as the fourth best player in the world rankings.
Jack Draper responds when asked about Wimbledon draw with Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner
Dan Evans thinks Draper can win Wimbledon, but after the latter’s draw was confirmed, it certainly seems like an uphill challenge.
The British number one takes on Sebastian Baez in round one, and opted to focus solely on the Argentine when asked in his pre-tournament press conference about potentially meeting Djokovic and Sinner later on.
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“Yeah, I mean I haven’t I haven’t looked at that at all,” said Draper. “You know, I look at my first round who I have, I respect every person in the draw. Obviously, I’ve got Baez on Tuesday and I’m not looking further than that.
“I know that he’s he’s a strong player, he’s here off his own merit, and, yeah, I look no further than him, and I’ll try and think about that as a go on, but firstly, we’ll start with that one.”
What is Jack Draper’s projected route to Wimbledon success?
Draper is taking the wise approach to focus only on his first game, which is certain to be a tricky test in itself.
Currently ranked 38th in the world, Baez has seven ATP Tour titles to his name, and once climbed as high as 18th in the standings.
The 24-year-old clinched one of those titles this season, having emerged victorious at Rio de Janeiro in February.
Draper, in contrast, is a three-time champion on the ATP Tour, with his only win this season coming at Indian Wells in March.
The Briton will now have high hopes of a lengthy run at Wimbledon, but former finalist Marin Cilic could await him in round two should he progress.
Halle champion Alexander Bublik is a potential third round opponent for Draper, with the former having recently knocked the latter out of the French Open.
Rising star Jakub Mensik could follow for the home favourite should he enact revenge on Bublik, with 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic a likely quarter-final opponent.
Should he navigate past the Serbian, world number one Sinner would likely await in the semi-finals at SW19.
And the nightmare draw certainly doesn’t end there, with Draper’s run potentially culminating with a final against the in-form Carlos Alcaraz.
The 22-year-old already boasts five Grand Slam titles, the latest of which arrived in his French Open final win over Sinner earlier this month.
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