Jack Draper shares the change he’s made to his game which is now enabling him to beat top players

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Jack Draper is pleased with how he was able to change his mindset and approach to tennis in order to become a better player.

The 22-year-old first showed the world what he was capable of when he took the first set in his four-set defeat to Novak Djokovic at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.

He was just 19 at the time and three years later Draper reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open and is the British number one.

The player has positioned himself as one of the biggest young stars on the ATP Tour and he aims to make even greater strides through the rest of the season and into 2025.

What change did Jack Draper make to his game to start beating the top players?

Jack Draper began 2024 by reaching the final of the Adelaide International before making the semi-finals in Mexico.

He claimed the first title of his career by lifting the Stuttgart Open title before reaching the last eight at Queen’s. A quarter-final appearance followed in Cincinnati before a magical run to the last eight at the US Open.

Draper defeated the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe and Alex de Minaur this season, and these are the type of players he will need to beat consistently if he is to win the biggest titles in tennis, and Draper made a big change to his mindset and game style to begin doing that.

“I think I went through a period at the start this year where I was playing a lot of top players because I wasn’t seeded in tournaments,” he told the ITF’s YouTube channel.

“I think there was a period where I took three matches 7 six and the third in a row, and I realised that my game was obviously there with these top players but I needed to be braver and I needed to believe in myself more and take it to them.

“I went through a few periods this year where I lost quite a few matches on the trot and I knew it was important for me that if I wanted to come through these challenges that I needed to change my identity as a player and change the way I was mentally.”

Is Jack Draper playing in the Davis Cup?

Following his US Open run, Draper is now in Manchester representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup against Canada, Argentina and Finland in Group D.

But the World number 20 was left out of the opening tie against Finland due to concerns over a thigh injury.

In his absence Britain defeated Finland 2-1 following singles victories from Dan Evans and Billy Harris over Eero Vasa and Otto Virtanen respectively.

They will be in action again on Friday against Argentina and it remains to be seen if Draper will be fit enough to compete.