Jack Draper calls out Carlos Alcaraz and reflects on Andy Murray win

British tennis star Jack Draper has outlined his desire to compete with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz at the very top of the sport after beating childhood hero Andy Murray at Indian Wells last month. The 21-year-old managed to reach the last 16 in California as a result of his win over Murray but was knocked out in the next round by Alcaraz after being forced to retire from the match due to an abdominal injury.

Draper has been turning plenty of heads since breaking into the world’s top 100 less than a year ago and previously took Alcaraz to three sets in Basel, with his performance underlining his sky-high potential as he chases down those near the summit of the rankings. Although things did not go so well for Draper against his Spanish counterpart at Indian Wells last month, he is still confident in his ability to reach the levels shown by Alcaraz in his bid to challenge players of that calibre on a regular basis.

“It was a bit of a shame in Indian Wells, I hurt my ab at the end of the Andy match and that was obviously going to affect me,” Draper told Tennis Majors. “But I think even if I was OK and fit, the level that was coming at me that day on the court was something that I hadn’t really experienced much on a tennis court before.

“I have huge respect for him. He’s obviously an incredible player. What he’s done already in tennis is pretty, pretty incredible, not not only just his tennis, but his physicality, his mentality. I see him as more of a benchmark of that’s where I want to be week in, week out.

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“I want to be able to compete with him and hopefully, win against him. Full respect, he’s an incredible player. And I don’t think you can quite appreciate it until you play against him.”

Draper also had some kind words for Murray after beating his fellow Brit at Indian Wells in a match that many have since identified as a possible changing of the guard, just as they did when the two-time Wimbledon champion defeated Tim Henman in Basel back in 2005.

“Andy’s my childhood idol, you know, I watched him from when I was young,” continued Draper. “This sport is kind of crazy because you’re playing week in, week out, and you don’t often get to reflect, but I was obviously very proud of myself. Andy’s a great player and someone that I always looked up to you so to beat him again is a real confidence boost.

“It’s one match and I respect everything that Andy’s achieved, he’s one of the greats of the game, and I’m aware he’s got a metal hip so is the win that good? I don’t know, but he’s still a top 50 player, he’s still beating great players week in, week out and he’s still playing at a very high level himself. It was great to come through that match and I’m sure we’ll have many battles in the next couple of years.”

It remains to be seen how Draper will fare over the course of his next big test at the French Open later this year after crashing out of the Australian Open in the very first round back in January. He was somewhat unlucky to come up against Rafael Nadal in Melbourne and will be hoping for an easier draw at Roland Garros as he looks to achieve a career-best Grand Slam result by reaching at least the fourth round in Paris.

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