Jack Draper is a Masters 1000 champion and a top-10 star! The young Briton conquered his career-besttitle in Indian Wells, becoming the third left-hander with a Masters 1000 trophy since 2000 and the fifth British player in the elite top-10 company.
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The Sutton native has played 145 matches on the ATP Tour, and only one player has managed to bagel him! Interestingly, it came in the Indian Wells semi-final against his good friend Carlos Alcaraz. However, Jack bounced back and brought the victory home to remain on the title course.
Interestingly, Carlos provided a bagel in his 15th ATP match. He finished on the losing side for the first time!
Draper ousted Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 in an hour and 44 minutes, ending the Spaniard's streak of 16 straight wins in the desert. The servers performedpoorly in the opening two sets, with the two rivals completing them in 53 minutes!
The lower-ranked player took charge in the decider, forging a 5-2 advantage and sealing the deal with a hold in game ten. Jack collected five points more than Carlos, facing only one break point in sets one and three and keeping the pressure on the other side.
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Alcaraz provided four breaks, three in the second set. He lost 44% of the points in his games and got broken four times from five chances offered to his opponent. Draper had the upper hand in the shortest exchanges, while Alcaraz responded in the more advanced ones.
The Spaniard hit more winners and unforced errors. The Briton outplayed him from the baseline and in service winners, making a push at the beginning of the decider and bringing the victory home. Jack was off to a perfect start!
He served well in the opener and broke Carlos two times for a promising 6-1 advantage. He broke at love in the second game after a double fault from world no. 3. A left-hander stepped in on the return again in game six.
He fired a forehand crosscourt winner for a double break. Draper provided a hold at love at 5-1, landing a powerful serve and closing the opener in 23 minutes. However, the tables turned in set number two, with Carlos raising his level.
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The defending champion saved a break point in the first game and ended his downfall. It gave him a boost, and we saw him converting the fourth break chance in the second game after Draper's double fault. World no. 3 held for 3-0 and made another push on the return in the next one.
Jack hit a loose forehand in the fourth game to fall 4-0 behind and experienced more issues at 0-5. Alcaraz generated three set point and seized the last with a backhand return winner, delivering a bagel and introducing a decider after 53 minutes!
The two-time champion became the favorite after gathering a boost. He also had a 14-0 score in the ATP matches after bageling his opponent. However, Draper did not care about that! The Briton made a fresh start and provided three fine holds.
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He secured a break at 15 in the third game with a backhand winner and landed a service winner in the next one for 3-1. The Briton held at 30 in game six and stepped in on the return in the next one after the Spaniard squandered five game points!
Draper drew Alcaraz's mistake for a break and a massive 5-2 advantage. A left-hander served for the win in game eight and experienced a break at 15 to keep his rival in contention. Carlos closed the ninth game and reduced the gap to 5-4.
However, Jackheld at 15 in game ten with a service winner, moving over the top and reaching his first Masters 1000 final.
