Ready To Roll, Draper Set For Return In Winston-Salem
Jack Draper returns to the ATP Tour this week at the Winston-Salem Open after spending two months sidelined by a shoulder injury. The British lefty sustained the injury in his opening match at Roland Garros in May, forcing him to miss the grass swing.
“At the French Open I hurt my shoulder. I thought it was quite insignificant at the time but when I came back preparing for the grass it turned out it was a bit of a tear that went into my tendon, so I had to take about a month and a half out,” Draper told ATPTour.com ahead of the ATP 250 event.
“A tear in my shoulder isn’t the best. It didn’t take too long, but still one month to two months out of the Tour, so I am trying to come back and stay injury free from now.”
Draper reached the semi-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Winnipeg last week in his first tournament back. The 21-year-old is eager to increase his match load in the coming weeks, but stressed the importance of managing expectations.
“I think with these sorts of injuries, especially the tendons, you need to be careful with them,” said Draper, who also missed large periods of the 2021 season with injury. “It takes time and you have to rehab them properly. I wouldn’t say I am completely out of the woods, I have to keep on doing the right things for it and hopefully it will be ok and keep improving week by week.
“I didn’t serve for about a month and a half after I did it. I am sort of getting my rhythm back on my serve. Last week I played my first tournament back and hit quite a few double faults, so I am trying to get my confidence back in my body and my tennis. Hopefully this week in Winston-Salem I can do that.”
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Draper is currently No. 123 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but rose as high as No. 38 in January. The Briton enjoyed a breakthrough 2022 season, winning four Challenger Tour titles, advancing to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal and the semi-finals in Eastbourne. He also reached the last four at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals.
The 21-year-old lefty is hoping to use that experience to climb again.
“Last year I had a great year and brought that confidence into this year,” Draper said. “But now I have had so much time off the court, it is almost like I have a fresh start. I have got to build my momentum and confidence all over again and that is fine because this is sport. There are ups and downs, but I am trying to build up that confidence in practice and with my coach and hopefully week by week I can keep improving.”
Since Draper’s injury, the young stars on the ATP Tour have hit the headlines. The 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz clinched the Wimbledon title, while Jannik Sinner lifted his maiden Masters 1000 trophy in Toronto. Holger Rune advanced to the quarter-finals at majors in Paris and London, before jumping to a career-high No. 5 this week. The Briton has followed their recent success and revealed it has provided him with further motivation.
“I think there are a lot of amazing young players doing well on Tour. They are really getting to new heights, achieving every week. It is really motivating to watch them and see them as a benchmark,” Draper said. “Hopefully I can be there soon if I put in right the work and do all the right things for my body and my tennis.”
While Draper may dream of future title runs, for now, his aims for 2023 are simple.
“It is about staying consistently on the court,” Draper said. “I have only played six to seven tournaments this year. It has been a real challenge just to get the fitness right and stay on the tennis court. My number one goal is to stay injury free as I know my tennis is good enough when I stay on court to do well.”
Draper, who is 10-7 on the season, highlighted by a fourth-round run in Indian Wells, will face Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the first round in Winston-Salem.