Jack Draper made a statement to the rest of the players remaining in the Indian Wells Masters draw.
The British number one reached the quarterfinals at the Masters 1000 event for the first time after dispatching former champion Taylor Fritz 7-5, 6-4.
That was Draper’s third top-five win of his career and he has lost just one completed match so far this season.
The 23-year-old needs is on a mission to not claim the title in Indian Wells, but establish himself as one of the world’s best.
Jack Draper says he did something to Taylor Fritz that he experiences against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Draper is gradually climbing the ATP Tour rankings and taking on the world’s best on a more consistent basis.
The World number 14 He has claimed victories over the likes of Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s and now Fritz at Indian Wells.
However, he does have a losing record against the Spaniard and he lost his 2024 US Open semi-final to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Draper admitted that those two players put him under a different type of pressure than from other players, and he hopes that he is now developing that aspect of his game when he steps on court.
“When I play against someone like Carlos or Jannik. When these players are playing well they put a lot of pressure on you and you feel like you have to do more,” Draper told Tennis Channel.
“You feel that pressure when you are on the court and I think that is tennis. When you play these top players or I hope when people play me now they feel pressure to do more than they think they need to.”
What is Jack Draper’s head-to-head record against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz?
Draper has recorded one victory against both Alcaraz and SInner during his young career.
He defeated the Italian at the Queen’s 7-6(6), 7-6(2) back in 2021, but Draper lost to Sinner at the US Open in 2024.
Draper has played Alcaraz four times and his victory also came at Queen’s in a 7-6(3) 6-3 victory last summer.
But the Spaniard won their Basel Open contest in 2022, and their 2023 matchup at Indian Wells, when Alcaraz won the first of his two titles on the Californian desert.
The pair last played at the Australian Open in January, and Alcaraz was leading 7-5, 6-1 before Draper retired from the match due to injury.
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