John McEnroe makes bold Jack Draper rankings claim after US Open breakthrough
09/06/2024 10:19 AM
John McEnroe admits he has been surprised by one key area of Jack Draper’s game at this year’s US Open, which inspires him to believe he can become a regular in the top ten of the ATP Rankings.
Draper became the first British man to reach the last four in New York since Andy Murray did it on his way to the 2012 title when he beat Alex de Minaur on Wednesday.
While the 22-year-old's breakthrough run was aided by Carlos Alcaraz's early exit, he has ensured a break into the top 20 of the ATP Rankings of the first time in his career with his wins at the US Open and McEnroe believes he is destined to stay at the top.
Speaking at a Eurosport event, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion suggested an huge improvement in Draper’s movement on court has allowed him to move to the next level, as he suggested the Brit is now a threat against anyone in the men’s game.
“Jack has had some hard luck with injuries and he had some issues with his fitness stepping up into the big time,” began McEnroe.
“With Andy Murray retiring, he had to step up into that role in British tennis and that is not easy at all.
“He has benefitted from a favourable draw at this year’s US Open, but I feel like he is playing the game with a little more abandon now and that is helping him.
“He is using his height to his advantage and to me, he still has a tendency to stand too far back as he has a big game and needs to use it.
“Being a lefty helps as players don’t see that too often, so he has a lot going for him.
“I knew he was going to be good and one area where he has impressed me at the US Open is with his movement. That makes me think he could become a regular in the top ten of the rankings from now on.
“He has already gained quite a bit at this US Open and he has nothing to lose at this point. He just needs to push on from here.”
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Draper has admitted he questioned whether he was cut out for a life at the top of the game but coming through the other side of those doubts has strengthened his resolve.
"It helps the fact that I've been in a lot of kind of low points already in my career where I've had injuries, I've had setbacks, I've had times when I've maybe thought to stop or question whether I am cut out for this sport, am I really good enough and all this sort of stuff,” said Draper.
"I kept on believing in myself, kept on working. Those are hard moments. This is kind of not a hard moment compared to that.
"This is a privilege and this is an honour to be in this position. This is why I work so hard, so I've got to just keep it going in my stride.
"At the end of the day, I'm not afraid of being in these positions. I want to keep on doing this and this is why I play."
John McEnroe – Eurosport Tennis Expert
John McEnroe will be covering the US Open for Eurosport.
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