Draper out to 'shake up' world's best after key win

Jack Draper is only the fourth British man since 2009 - after Andy Murray, Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie - to win an ATP 500 title

Twelve months ago, Jack Draper was - by his own admission - angry.

The young Briton, long tipped to go right to the top of the sport, had been forced back onto the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour following yet more injury strife.

Fast forward to autumn 2024 and his emotions are rather different.

On Sunday, the 22-year-old left-hander beamed with pride after winning his biggest title to date at an ATP 500 event in Vienna, a result that meant he climbed up to 15th in the men's rankings - a career high - on Monday.

"I've got this inner belief now," said Draper, shortly after beating Russia's Karen Khachanov in the Erste Bank Open final.

"I'll go again next year with even bigger motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game - the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz."

BBC Sport analyses how Draper has transformed his career over the past 12 months and how he can still improve.

What Draper has achieved this year

At the Challenger event in Bergamo last October, Draper had just crept back inside the world's top 100 - an important marker on the professional tours and the gateway for direct entry into the Grand Slam events.

He was lamenting the "brutal" nature of a sport where he had started living up to his potential only to suffer another setback with a shoulder injury.

"I was 40 in the world, I got injured and my ranking completely dropped. I was back playing Challengers and I felt angry," said Draper.

"But I knew if I could get my body and my mind in a good place, my tennis is good enough to compete with the best players in the world."

This year, he has demonstrated that by:

• winning a first ATP Tour title - a 250 event in Stuttgart

• reaching a maiden Grand Slam semi-final, in the US Open

• cracking the top 20 of the ATP world rankings

• becoming only the fourth British man since 2009 to win an ATP 500 title

"It's been a long year with lots of ups and downs," said Draper.

"But winning my first title, then the US Open, have been huge in really believing that I belong.

"It's been a snowball effect since then."

Fitness leads to flow

While Draper's talent has never been in doubt, it has taken time for his body to develop the durability required to harness it.

This year, Draper has played 58 ATP Tour matches - comfortably the highest tally of his career so far.

Physical issues dogged him in his early days on the professional tour, with heat-related illness and cramps among the reasons for mid-match retirements.

Now fitter and with fewer injuries, Draper is enjoying the fruits of his hard work.

Working again with physical trainer Steve Kotze, who Draper describes as "one of the best in the world", has been a catalyst for his success.

The speed he showed around court was notable in Vienna.

"When an athlete gets stronger it makes it easier to flow on court," said Draper.

"When you mix that with my desire to chase down every ball and my strength behind the ball, things get better."

First serve laying the platform

When Draper brought Wayne Ferreira into his coaching team earlier this year, the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist was enlisted to help beef up the Briton's serve.

The partnership only lasted a few months and did not immediately lead to the serving improvements Draper wanted.

"I made a few changes and it didn't really work," said Draper.

"We have worked hard to get my rhythm sorted and I've found a real 'golden way' of executing it now."

When Draper lands first serves - using variety and accuracy as well as pace - it is a weapon which his rivals find difficult to deal with.

Winning 18 of his 19 first-serve points (94.7%) in the opening set against Khachanov laid the platform for an impressive victory, which he eventually secured after a tense second set in which this metric dropped considerably.

Only three ATP Tour players - Grigor Dimitrov (79.4%), Sinner (79.1%) and Taylor Fritz (79%) - have won a higher percentage of first-serve points than Draper (78.6%) this season.

The challenge for Draper is, as he did in Vienna, continuing to improve the amount he lands.

His first-serve percentage of 58.2% is ranked 77th on tour this season, while he is 51st for points won on his second serve.

"[My first serve] has really developed in the last month or so," Draper said.

"I have found what works for me, I've worked really hard for it. I am really confident and hopefully can keep that consistency going."

How can he get even better?

Draper knows he still has improvements to make if he is going to challenge the very best.

His fitness still needs to be worked on, while the anxiety that has had a negative impact in some important matches needs to be managed.

After vomiting three times during his straight-set defeat by Sinner in the US Open semi-finals, Draper vowed to "look into" the reasons behind the nerves.

"If I can keep on improving physically, and getting more experience at this higher level against top players, I'm going to give myself a shot at competing with those guys," said Draper.

"But there's a lot of work to do."