Jack Draper’s pep talk after losing the second set at Indian Wells helped propel him to one of the biggest victories of his career.
Carrying the momentum from reaching the Qatar Open final, the British number one has been in sparkling form in the Californian desert.
Draper did not drop a set on the way to the semi-final, and he faced the tough task of defeating two-time Indian Wells defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old was able to do something nobody had managed since Rafael Nadal in 2022, to beat the World number three at Indian Wells.
Jack Draper disclosed toilet chat after losing second set to Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells
In the first set of his Indian Wells semi-final against Jack Draper, in his own words Carlos Alcaraz played one of the worst sets of his career.
He won less than 30% of his second serve points, reached double figures in unforced errors, and he was in single digits for winners, as Draper took the lead 6-1.
But the Spaniard completely flipped the script in set two and won it without losing a game, and this time it was Draper committing double digit unforced errors.
He was able to recover and win a tight third set and ultimately the match, but not before Draper gave himself a pep talk during the toilet break after the second set had concluded. “In the first set, came out, I think his energy was a bit low, couple of errors here and there,” Draper told reporters.
“Obviously that carried on to the first game of the second, as well, and I didn’t get that game. I did feel like, you know, all of a sudden the occasion, I feel like obviously had a lot of different experiences. This is a new one for me. Obviously a big match for myself.
“I knew that if I won I would be top 10, and playing a semifinal against Carlos, sometimes that makes you feel certain things. I definitely felt like my energy really dropped.
“I kind of felt a bit lethargic and my legs stopped working, and obviously that’s not ideal when you want to really go for it and stuff. Like I said, all new experiences for me.
“Then, yeah, obviously after that set went away, I went to the toilet and just, yeah, kind of looked at myself in the mirror and was like, You need to really, you need to really get my stuff together.”
Jack Draper matches British ATP record after reaching Indian Wells final
Draper’s 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz booked him a spot in his first Masters 1000 final.
He first raised eyebrows by defeating one of the tournament favourites and American number one Taylor Fritz in the round of 16.
Therefore, Draper has now secured two wins over top five players on the way to reaching the Indian Wells championship match.
He has become the first British player to achieve this feat since Andy Murray at the 2010 Toronto Open.
The three-time Grand Slam champion defeated the World number one at the time Nadal and the third seed Roger Federer on the way to winning the title.
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