Jack Draper continues to go from strength to strength, with the Briton now the latest Indian Wells champion after his final win over Holger Rune.
Draper won a ‘strange’ semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, who was among his victims en route to the ATP Masters 1000 title.
Tim Henman thinks it’s the first of many 1000 titles for Draper, who also triumphed in Vienna and Stuttgart in 2024.
Draper has now risen to a career-high seventh in the rankings, with the 13th seed having beaten 12th seed Rune 6-2, 6-2.
Along with second seed Alcaraz, the British number one knocked out the likes of third seed Taylor Fritz and 11th seed Ben Shelton at Indian Wells.
Jack Draper admits Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are ‘a long way ahead’ of him
Draper also beat Joao Fonseca and Jenson Brooksby in a stunning run at Indian Wells, but still feels he can get even better.
“I mean, I would like to think that I still have got to improve a lot,” he told Tennis Channel. “Especially those boys like Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner, they are a long way ahead of me in all honestly.
“Four Slams and three Slams. That is the benchmark I am going after. This is a great week and I have been more and more consistent with my results but I still have a long way to go, I still have a lot to improve mentally, physically and emotionally.
“That’s the goal to reach these guys and compete for the big titles week in, week out but I am not getting too far ahead of myself. It’s been a good week but I still have a lot to achieve.”
Jack Draper still behind Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz despite Indian Wells win
It is certainly admirable that Draper wants to continue developing right after such a huge title, and after a new career-high rank.
But that is undoubtedly the right approach he needs to take to reach the heights of Alcaraz and Sinner, who have been at the top of men’s tennis for quite some time.
Draper is certainly keeping them in his sights, but even with his latest win, it is the likes of the Spaniard and the Italian who are proving hard to beat at Grand Slam level.
World number one Sinner won the Australian Open at the start of 2025, following on from his win there and indeed at the US Open in 2024.
The Italian beat Draper en route to the latter, while Alcaraz beat the Briton in Melbourne this season, having won the French Open and Wimbledon last time out.
But the British number one can take great confidence from his Indian Wells success, although it will always be unknown what could have happened if Sinner wasn’t absent due to his three-month suspension.
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