Jack Draper has enjoyed a remarkable rise in a short period of time, with the 22-year-old the new British men’s number one.
His rise to the rank coincided with a first ATP Tour title, with the Brit having just clinched success at the Stuttgart Open.
And that was no mean feat, with Draper needing to get past the likes of world number 28 Frances Tiafoe and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini on his way to the trophy.
The victory also sees the youngster shoot up the ATP rankings, with Draper climbing nine places to 31st on the list.
American star Tiafoe is now projecting big things for the Stuttgart Open champion, claiming that he will be the top British player ‘for a long time’.
What Jack Draper has been working on ahead of Wimbledon
Tiafoe, who was beaten by the 22-year-old in the quarter-finals, highlighted his opponent’s serve as a particularly strong part of his game.
With Draper hitting a personal record of 31 aces against the fourth seed, Tiafoe isn’t wrong, but the former has revealed another area that he has been working hard on in recent times.
“I’ve been working so hard, doing the right things for such a long time now, that I knew my time was going to come in one of these events,” said Draper, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“I was in a period over the clay-court season where I was really trying to change my identity as a tennis player, trying to be more aggressive and take more risks, take the ball on a lot more.
“I’ve been doing that in practice so well that when it came to the matches, I was just really confident.
“I’m really proud of the way I played last week. To beat the players I beat and win my first title, I’m incredibly proud of that achievement.”
Huge summer ahead for British number one Jack Draper
Draper will be sensible not to let his recent success and indeed high praise get to his head, with the hard work needing to continue in the months to come.
The small matter of Wimbledon arrives next in the calendar in terms of majors, with the new British number one then swapping grass for clay at the Paris Olympics.
It takes place shortly after Wimbledon, with Team GB represented by four men in the singles draw for the first time since London 2012.
Draper, Cam Norrie and Dan Evans will all head to France alongside veteran Andy Murray, who is set for his fifth Olympics.
The Scot should be more than excited to link up with Draper, having tipped the latter to one day move to the very top of the world rankings.
Whether or not Draper can reach the same heights as Murray remains to be seen, but he is certainly going about it the right way at this moment in time.
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