Professional sport has a knack of knocking you down when you’re sitting on cloud nine and Jack Draper now knows only too well how that feels.
The Great Britain number one was sent packing from the Miami Open by Jakub Mensik in his opening match at the tournament yesterday.
Draper won his biggest title to date last week at Indian Wells and this has to be considered a setback for the player who has now edged into the top 10 on the ATP world rankings.
The 23-year-old lost two tie-breakers to the world number 54 and he’s now admitted what he really couldn’t get to grips with at the tournament.
Jack Draper shares what he really struggled with during Miami Open
Draper admitted after this shock defeat to Mensik that he found the going tough in Miami – but as ever, remained in high spirits ahead of the future and other tournaments this year.
He said in his press conference: “It was tough. I came against someone today who was playing incredibly well. Served 10 out of 10. I couldn’t get a read or a look at his serve at all. There were some things I could do better obviously. Big change in surface from last week, last week was incredibly slow and I have struggled to adapt to the courts this week being so fast but he was too good today and I think I can draw a lot of lessons from it. Obviously very disappointed but I live to fight another day.”
Indian Wells was successful for Draper as he claimed the biggest win of his career and he added on that tournament how he’s feeling after getting his hands on that prize.
He continued: “I think I get a lot of confidence from the last couple of weeks. Obviously I am really disappointed with how it has gone here but to win a Masters 1000 to know I have the level to do that and beat the players that I did only gives me a lot of motivation and confidence moving forward. I am just looking forward to getting back to training and getting back to work. My feet are firmly on the ground and I have to keep in forward in the right way and doing the right thing and listening to the people around me.”
Jack Draper stats during defeat to Jakub Mensik
Draper was due an off day to be fair to the youngster.
He’s worked tirelessly on his stamina and fitness issues and in winning Indian Wells it would appear that his new regime is going according to plan.
| Jack Draper stats vs Jakub Mensik at Miami Open | Total |
| Aces | 12 |
| Double Faults | 2 |
| First Serve | 67% |
| Break Points | 1/2 |
| Points Won | 80 |
Draper has nothing to feel disappointed about and if he’d been offered winning Indian Wells if it meant going out early in Miami, he’d have likely taken it.
Draper is showing the level of form that suggests he can go deep at a Grand Slam and ultimately, that is what his priority will be from here on in during 2025.
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