"It's the match that got me into the top 10": Draper looks back on his semi-final against Alcaraz at Indian Wells
After an excellent first half of the season (title at Indian Wells, final in Madrid, entry into the ATP top 5), Jack Draper was abruptly stopped by a left arm injury.
The Briton ended his season as early as September, but has recently been giving interviews to various media. For The Tennis Mentor, Draper looked back on his victory at Indian Wells and his semi-final win against Carlos Alcaraz:
"It's hard to believe you can win a big tournament when you've never done it before. For me, it's always match by match, I don't project myself. Looking back, my run was tough: I play Fonseca in the first round and many other good players after that.
I knew the semi-final against Alcaraz was a match that could get me into the top 10. I played a very good first set, then I felt my body starting to give way a bit. I was nervous.
Against a player like him, it's hard to feel that and continue to play well. But I was proud to find the necessary resources to get through it. There's a lot of nervousness in tennis. Every match is a separate battle."
Indian Wells