Jack Draper. Is it me, or does that name conjure images of an MI5 agent in a British geopolitical thriller? But no. The Jack Draper we’re talking about is a fast-rising star in the world of tennis, not international espionage.
Until very recently, few on this side of the pond knew jack about this 20-year-old phenom who’s seemingly come out of nowhere, adding his name to a revitalized British tennis scene that’s having a moment. There are four British men still alive in the US Open: Andy Murray, the grizzled elder with titanium hips, Cameron Norrie and Daniel Evans
Draper, the tallest and youngest of the crew, possesses a 136 mph serve that the Telegraph called a “lefty howitzer.”
The man is making a name for himself.
Felix Auger-Aliassime found out in a hurry who Jack Draper is, and what kind of weaponry he has, in the second round. Draper throttled the 6th-seeded Canadian, a semifinalist at last year’s US Open, in three commanding sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Brit has advanced to the third round in his very first appearance in Flushing, and only second career Grand Slam. In two rounds and six in Queens, Draper has dropped serve just twice.
Auger-Aliassime was already the second Top 10 victim of Draper’s career. The young man has had a torrid summer in North America. In Montreal, Draper defeated world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to making his first ATP 1000 quarterfinal. Draper has also recently beaten the likes of Dominic Thiem, Taylor Fritz, Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman.
On Friday, he faces Karen Khachanov, the 6-foot-6 No. 27 seed, with a chance to advance to his first fourth round at a major.
Draper’s rise has been relentless. He's jumped 206 spots in the rankings, from No. 259 a year ago. He just keeps climbing, hitting a new career high 19 times already this year. The Brit made the Top 200 in February; the Top 100 in June; and was up to No. 53 in August. Regardless of the outcome in his next round, Draper will enter the Top 50 for the first time after the Open.
Unsurprisingly, Draper is not lacking in confidence: “I think I've known my tennis ability has been good for a long time now,” he said after his second-round victory. “I've obviously had the privilege to hit with Andy, Cam, Dan at the NTC. They're top players in their own right. I’ve known I could hold my own a while back with them.”
“I think I've known that my tennis is there,” he continued. ”It's just about the process of how I'm going to cope physically and mentally.”
The 20-year-old seems to be coping rather well.
About the only things that have hampered his rise have been injury and illness. Draper underwent a massive growth spurt when he was 17, and his body couldn’t quite keep up. A series of niggling injuries may have kept his ascent from being even more precipitous. In 2021, Draper collapsed on court at the Miami Open with a heat-related affliction, and later in the year, he contracted COVID-19.
The 6-foot-4 lefty from Sutton, SW London has pedigree, not just a past. He essentially grew up in Wimbledon village. His father is the former Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Roger Draper, and his mother was a former British tennis champion. The young Draper trained at the National Tennis Center that was commissioned by his dad.
Draper is on record saying that in his junior-tennis days some were rankled by his privileged, insider upbringing. “There was quite a lot of jealousy when I was younger,” he said earlier this year. “I would often go to junior tournaments and have 15 boys on the balcony that I had never seen before willing me on to lose, making noises before I serve, all that sort of stuff.”
“I realized as I got older, that’s just the way it is,” said the youngster. “There’s always going to be people thinking that I am getting better treatment.”
Draper can’t argue with his lot in life.
There are some handsome blokes on the ATP tour, but Draper is surely the only active player with a separate modeling contract with IMG.
One wonders what his erstwhile junior rivals must be thinking today. They see his stunning results on tour and then open a magazine to see smoldering photos of Draper and his six-pack abs.
Maybe he is some sort of secret agent after all.
