Jack Draper claimed his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. The 23-year-old played flawless tennis in the desert and dropped one set in six encounters en route to his career-high moment. The five-time Indian Wells champion, Novak Djokovic, congratulated the Briton on a massive success.
The veteran suffered an early exit for the second straight year. Unlike him, the Sutton native dominated the field and bested four top-15 rivals to celebrate the title and crack the top-10 for the first time.
The Briton bageled Joao Fonseca in the second round and defeated Jenson Brooksby in the next one to enter the last 16. Things got serious from there, but Jack raised to the challenge and presented his A-game!
He toppled the former champion Taylor Fritz and took down another home star, Ben Shelton, en route to the semi-final. Draper faced the two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final and earned a 6-1, 0-6 6-4 triumph.
Competing in his first Masters 1000 final, Jack took down Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 in 69 minutes to lift the trophy in style. Draper dominated with his first serve, taking 24 of 26 points after landing it in. He lost 12 points in eight service games, never facing a break point.
Rune felt the pressure and cracked under it. His forehand let him down, and he could not follow the rival's pace. The Dane gave away almost half of the points in his games and suffered two breaks in each set to settle for the runner-up prize.
Jack was off to a flying start in his first Masters 1000 final. He provided two early breaks and forged a 4-0 advantage before clinching the opener 6-2. The Sutton native delivered an early break in the second set and took the final three games to sail over the top and earn a notable trophy.
Hungry for more, Draper will seek another deep run at the Miami Masters, having a nice chance to crack the top-5 in the upcoming weeks.
