Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner have been enjoying the limelight this week as they form a debut doubles team at the Canadian Open.
After an unforgettable summer on the European grass where he claimed his first ATP title in Stuttgart and despatched reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s, Draper appears eager to hone his skills on the doubles court heading into the North American swing.
Meanwhile, world number one Sinner, who pulled out of the Olympics through illness, also appears keen to maximize the time spent on the court in a bid to defend his singles crown from 12 months ago.
And the pair look quite the fit, having defeated the Belgian duo of Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen, who have eight titles as a pair, in round one.
Draper and Sinner then defeated fellow singles stars Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik in a second-round clash, but the flashy tennis on display wasn’t the only thing that fans were left discussing.
Fans react as Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner get cozy on court
Jack Draper announced himself to the British public in 2021 when he beat Jannik Sinner in a breakthrough run at Queen’s. Fast forward three years, and the pair seem to have become rather good friends.
Fans were left in hysterics on social media when a video emerged of Draper hitting the backside of Sinner after winning a crucial point to break their opponent’s serve in the second set.
On X, formerly Twitter, one fan commented: “HELP,” while another said: “It sounds like hitting a piece of cardboard.”
Another mentioned Sinner’s girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya, a WTA player: “Anna will not [be] happy if she sees that.”
Another fan commented: “Lol,” while another added: “That should be me.”
Sinner has his plate full in Canada this week
It’s comprehensible that Sinner is trying to squeeze in as much tennis as he can this week after agonisingly pulling out of the Olympics.
However, it’s possible that neither he nor Draper thought they would make it as far as the quarter-final stage when they entered the draw.
Draper is already out of the singles competition as he suffered a straight-sets defeat by the red-hot Aussie Jordan Thompson, so the Brit will be keen to progress further in the doubles.
Sinner, on the other hand, is the defending champion at the Montreal Open, so he may find it hard to juggle both duties if he wants to guard those all-important ranking points.
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