Jack Draper feels major success ‘a matter of time’ as he vows to work on anxiety
Draper fell short in his quest for a fairytale of New York as his US Open dream ended in a semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner.
Jack Draper feels it is a “matter of time” before he wins a grand slam but knows he has to learn to deal with his anxiety.
Draper fell short in his quest for a fairytale of New York as his US Open dream ended in a semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner.
The 22-year-old was hoping to become the first British man to reach a grand slam final since Andy Murray in 2016 but he found Sinner too good.
He was also hamstrung by anxiety and nerves which saw him vomit multiple times on court during the match.
The Briton is confident the experience will help him in the future.
“The thing helping me this year and helping me to feel better in general is the more experiences you have of situations, the easier things become,” he said.
“You just take it all in your stride. Tennis, especially, or just any sport is hugely mental and physical.
“I try my best all the time to keep on evolving, to keep on learning, and it’s definitely something I’ve had to just work through my whole entire life.
“I think I’ve got quite a strong mentality but I use up a lot of mental energy a lot of the time because I want it so badly.
“Obviously that doesn’t necessarily help a lot of the times, especially in these five-set matches and that sort of anxiety and those feelings can build up.
“So it’s definitely just something that, you know, is a real strength of mine but also a weakness, and I have to continue to work on it.
“But I don’t think I need to do anything different. I think it’s just a matter of time. You know, I think I’m constantly trying to improve.”
Sinner was too good for him on Arthur Ashe as the world number one guns for a second grand slam title to follow his Australian Open crown in January.
The Italian is good friends with Draper, having played doubles with him in Montreal before the US Open, and is backing him to win grand slams in the future.
“There are some feelings you have with certain players, and he is one of them, I feel like. Everyone has his own time and way and path.
“But I’m quite sure, because I know that he’s potentially winning some big titles in the future.
“He’s a tough player to play against, he has a great attitude on the court, he’s working hard. These are all things together which is great to see.
“I think we’re going to see him much more from now on.”
