Jack Draper: "I see Carlos Alcaraz as more of benchmark"
Jack Draper lavished praise on Carlos Alcaraz, calling him an "incredible" player whom he had huge respect for.
Draper was in awe of what the Spaniard has done already. Alcaraz won his first Major at the US Open last year and became the youngest World No. 1 in ATP history, among other achievements. Draper hopes to use him as inspiration and raise his own level in the days to come.
Speaking in a recent interview with Tennis Majors, the 21-year-old admitted that it was incredible to see Alcaraz's mentality and physicality. This made him think of the former World No. 1 as a "benchmark."
“I have huge respect for him. He’s obviously an incredible player. What he’s done already in tennis is 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,” Jack Draper said.
The World No. 56, who has lost both of his encounters against Carlos Alcaraz on the ATP Tour so far, plans to improve himself enough to hopefully set that record straight. At the very least, he hopes to be more competitive against the reigning US Open champion in the future.
“I want to be able to compete with him and hopefully, win against him. Full respect, he’s an incredible player,” Draper said. “And I don’t think you can quite appreciate it until you play against him.”
"The level that was coming at me that day on the court was something that I hadn’t really experienced" - Jack Draper on Indian Wells meeting with Carlos Alcaraz
The most recent of Jack Draper's two meetings with Carlos Alcaraz came at Indian Wells in March, where the Brit had to withdraw with an injury midway through the second set.
While it was a "bit of a shame," Draper did not think he could have beaten the World No. 2 even if he had been fully fit on the night. Recalling the fight, he declared that the level of tennis he witnessed from Alcaraz was something he had never experienced before in his career.
“Yeah, it was a bit of a shame in Indian Wells. I hurt my ab at the end of the Andy (Murray) match and that was obviously going to affect me,” Jack Draper said.
“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.”