Jack Draper fell to his knees on the hardcourt after completing a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Holger Rune on Sunday to earn the biggest reward of his career with a title at the Indian Wells Masters.
The Brit whose previous seasons have been marred by injury will move up to seventh in the rankings after defeating three straight American opponents and putting out two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a semi-final comeback.
He slammed 10 aces in the 68-minute final and never faced a break point.
“It’s incredible, I was not expecting this,” the winner said. “We’ve put in a lot of work and I’m grateful and happy to be able to play this way.”
Draper broke early in both sets to stamp his authority on his Danish opponent.
“I came out well after some low energy in the semis; I learned from that.
“I knew that Holger would be playing well and I needed to be aggressive. I didn’t allow him to play. I dictated the match pretty well.”
The 23-year-old said that he can now accept his new top 10 standing. “I deserve it in all honesty. All the adversity I’ve been through, the time that people around me have put in…
“It’s an emotional feeling to know that I will be seventh on Monday. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
Draper’s biggest trophy comes after he won ATP titles in Stuttgart and Vienna during his 2024 breakthrough.
Main photo:- Jack Draper sinks to his knees in celebration as he wins IW Title – by ISF Ltd
