Jack Draper has his sights set on difficult main stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after claiming the most important title of his profession by profitable the Erste Financial institution Open in Vienna.
The 22-year-old celebrated his first ATP 500 crown following a tense 6-4 7-5 conquer world No 24 Karen Khachanov in Sunday’s last.
Draper, who received the Stuttgart Open in June – an ATP 250 occasion – was enjoying in his second competitors since dropping to world No 1 Sinner within the US Open semi-finals.
He plans to enter the Paris Masters this week and, following a break within the tennis calendar, hopes to “shake up those guys at the top of the game” subsequent season following a formidable breakout marketing campaign.
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” stated Draper, who assured a top-15 rating along with his performances within the Austrian capital.
“I will concentrate on subsequent week after which I will look ahead to having a little bit of day without work and doubtless not occupied with tennis.
“It has been an extended yr and it has taken lots out of me.
“And then I’ll refresh and I’ll go again for next year with even bigger motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game – the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz.
“If I can carry on enhancing bodily and carry on getting increasingly more expertise at this greater stage in opposition to prime gamers then I will give myself a shot to hopefully be competing with these guys.
“But there’s a lot of work to do.”
Draper grew to become the fourth British participant to triumph on the event, following within the footsteps of Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and two-time winner Andy Murray.
He seemed set to breeze to victory after going 4-0 up within the second set however was then compelled to dig deep when Khachanov threatened a comeback by profitable the following 5 video games in a row.
The seventh seed regained his composure at a vital second to clinch the trophy in an hour and 35 minutes.
“It feels incredible, it’s been such an amazing week for me,” stated Draper.
“I’ve played some amazing tennis and I keep on improving and that’s the main thing.
“It has been an extended yr for me with many ups and downs. I knew if I stored on working persistently nicely with the staff then I will carry on having nice outcomes.”
If I can carry on enhancing bodily and carry on getting increasingly more expertise at this greater stage in opposition to prime gamers then I will give myself a shot to hopefully be competing with these guys.
Draper’s progress had been hampered by bodily issues previous to this season.
He had managed to remain injury-free earlier than retiring throughout the ATP Tour occasion in Tokyo final month after sustaining an belly difficulty, which additionally brought about him to overlook the Shanghai Masters.
“I knew coming here I was on good form but I wasn’t too sure how my body was,” stated Draper.
“The nature of tennis is brutal because (last year) I was 40 in the world and I got injured for a couple of months and my ranking completely dropped.
“I used to be again enjoying Challengers and I felt offended, I wasn’t proud of the place I used to be at. I used to be working laborious however issues simply weren’t clicking for me.
“I knew if I could just get my body and mind in a good place then my tennis is good enough to play these best players in the world and by having these type of results I’ve got this inner belief now.”
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