Jack Draper confident he can catch Alcaraz and Sinner as he lays out Wimbledon plans | Tennis | Sport

Jack Draper has revealed he “aspires” to reach the level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in their breathtaking French Open final. And the British No.1, who starts his grass-court season at Queen’s Club this week, said he aims to “peak” at Wimbledon next month. The sporting world was captivated by the five-set classic between the top two players in the world in Paris last weekend.

The Spaniard and the Italian have now won the last six Grand Slam singles titles between them. And US Open semi-finalist Draper, who lost in the fourth round at the clay-court Grand Slam, said: “I watched it in my flat. I watched the last three sets there, unbelievable tennis. I think it inspired all the players. I think it captured the attention of all the spectators and all people around the world, and even people who aren’t into tennis as well.

“It was one of those sporting moments where I think everyone was embraced by it. So I think Jannik and Carlos did an unbelievable show there. A shame someone had to lose. But that’s the nature of sport. I think tennis won for sure.

“Can I get to that level? Yeah, I think so. The tennis they were playing, I think that was a combination of them two together. I think it was the moment they were in. My friend said to me when we were watching them play: ‘How are they playing this way after five hours or something like that?’

“And I said: ‘I don’t think they are thinking about anything. I think they are just thinking about playing.’ I don’t know what I’m capable of yet, but I aspire to be at that level. What those guys are doing is setting the way and changing the game. Players like myself are going to be working very hard to get to that point. That’s 100 per cent for sure.”

Following a decade of dominance by the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, players like Draper want to join the new Big Two. “Tennis is in a really good spot in a way that the depth of it, especially the top-100, which is extremely strong,” he said.

“Everyone’s so good. Maybe five-10 years ago, maybe the top 10 or the top 20 was a bit more stacked. But having those two guys especially, they were being incredibly consistent during that level at the top of the game, in the biggest tournaments in the world, dragging some more attention to the sport. That only helps them.

“It helps players like myself, helps the game in general, to keep on moving in the right direction and keep developing. Because obviously, the spectators were brilliant. The players could feel it as well. When you haven’t got, say Rafa, Roger, Novak or Andy in the changing rooms.

“I know it’s a bit different, but having players who are asserting themselves in that room, I think that’s amazing for tennis. Hopefully there are more of those. Because they’re going to keep on improving and make us better. They’re going to hopefully keep producing more and more great players and great levels.”

Alcaraz went on holiday to party island Ibiza after the French Open but Draper, 23, returned to London. “Everyone’s different,” he said. “For me. I like being at home. I love going back to the UK, to my flat, or to the family home. I like coming back to see my family. I never get that time to be able to come back home and just completely relax. When I work, I work really hard.

“And I’m always on. I’m always trying to improve and stuff. Sometimes it’s nice for me now to come back and just take my mind off everything. I don’t really feel the urge to be going out partying and all that sort of stuff.

“I’d rather just come home and just chill out for once and not have any obligations, not think about anything. I only had a couple of days. So I’ll just use that time to get settled back in before I regroup and go again.”

Draper is set to drop down to No.6 in the world rankings on Monday after losing his points for winning the Boss Open last year and Taylor Fritz taking the title this year. He needs a strong run at Queen’s this week – the HSBC Championships – to get back into the top four before Wimbledon and avoid Sinner or Alcaraz until the semi-finals.

The British No.1, who won his first ever ATP match against the Italian at Queen’s Club in 2021, said: “Obviously, I’d love to do amazingly well this week, but Wimbledon would be a priority for me. I think it’s always an interesting one, that first natural tournament on the grass, there’s a lot of players who maybe aren’t amazingly prepared.

“We just come from a surface where we’re grinding out points. Having to win the points seven times on the trot to get one point. So coming onto a really fast surface, obviously, the margins are quite small, but I feel good, and I’m ready to compete hard.

“It’s a home tournament for me as well – so that’s added motivation for me to do well here. But for sure, Wimbledon would be where I want to peak the most.”