Jack Draper: British No 1 voices injury fears ahead of Australian Open in Melbourne next month

Jack Draper: British No 1 voices injury fears ahead of Australian Open in Melbourne next month | Tennis News

December 19, 2024:

Jack Draper has revealed his preparations for next month’s Australian Open have been adversely impacted by his recent hip injury.

The British No 1 took the decision to cancel a week-long training camp with Carlos Alcaraz in Spain in early December due to “a little niggle” in his hip area.

Draper was optimistic the injury would not affect his participation in the first Grand Slam of 2025 but has been forced to concede his preparations before arriving in Melbourne will be less than optimal.

“In all honesty, I haven’t been able to train the way I wanted to,” Draper told Sky Sports. “My preparation, probably, for Australia won’t be the best.

“But that’s the situation in the sport you’ve got to roll with the highs and lows – and hopefully I give myself the best shot of playing well there.”

Draper is due to fly out to Australia before Christmas and had hoped to start his season by representing Britain in the United Cup at the end of the month, but doubts hang over his fitness and participation.

“We’ll see,” Draper replied when asked whether he would be available for Britain’s United Cup opener. “I’ve been managing my body, talking to my team. It’s a day-by-day thing at this stage.

“Tennis is just a rolling wheel. There’s every tournament, and it feels so significant, every event. And it is, because there’s points available, there’s lots of opportunity.

“But sometimes, you have to make the right decision, so we’ll discuss it each day as a team, see what’s right for me and yeah, go from there.”

Draper’s injury came at the end of a breakthrough year in which he soared from outside the top 60 up to 15th in the world rankings.

The 22-year-old’s brilliant run to the semi-finals of the US Open showcased his talent on the biggest of stages, but he admits he still needs time to adapt to the rigours of the professional game.

“There’s always frustrations in tennis. There’s always frustrations in any sport,” Draper added. “You think you’re going great and then you pick up a niggle and you’re not able to do the thing you want to do. And you’ve got to accept that.

“You’ve got to accept there’s amazing things that can happen – there’s also really tough moments, and as a young player, I’m still getting to grips with all of that – and also understanding that sometimes it’s not the result that feels amazing, it’s not what you achieve, it’s actually just coming in every day, progressing and being able to do what you love doing.”

He continued: “As a young player, I’m still learning to cope with the demands of playing on the tour, week-in, week-out, against a lot of these guys.

“I’ve only played 120 matches on the tour. A lot of them have played 400, 500 and I think of how much I’ve improved from a mental, physical, emotional standpoint in the last 40 matches – it’s a huge difference.

“So, to think that I’m that far behind it, I’m still able to achieve what I’ve been doing, I think I just need more time.

“I just need to keep on doing the things I’m doing, keep good people around me, keep the growth mindset that I do always have and I think these problems will start to just fix themselves naturally, because I do all the right things and I want the best for myself, so I think they will clear up.”

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?

United Cup featuring Great Britain – December 27, 2024 – January 5, 2025
Brisbane International (ATP 250) – December 29, 2024 – January 5, 2025
ASB Classic, Auckland (WTA 250) – December 30, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Stream The new EFL season, Test cricket and more top sport with NOW.

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