By Karl Plume
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jack Draper says his “first proper year” on the ATP Tour and a return to his old fitness trainer have him playing more confidently at the U.S. Open after a surprise run to the tournament’s fourth round in 2023 ranked 123rd in the world.
Now ranked No. 25 and carrying the torch for British men’s tennis following the retirement of his tennis idol Andy Murray this summer, Draper made his return to the fourth round Saturday with a scrappy 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Botic Van de Zandschulp on the Grandstand hard court.
“I thought I did a really good job overall, and my performance and everything, I think, got better as the match went on,” Draper said after dispatching the Dutchman, who only two days earlier ousted tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz in a second-round shocker.
With a fourth-round date with unseeded Czech Tomas Machac, Draper is hoping a clean bill of health and another year of pro experience will have him playing well into week two in New York.
“I was still really struggling with the shoulder injury when I played here last year. I feel very different now,” he said.
“I’m not waking up every day worried about playing five sets. I have so much more confidence in my mind and my body through experiences of playing on the tour now this year consistently.”
Draper credits a more mindful approach to training for the consistency that has accompanied his ascent in the rankings after an injury-plagued start to his career.
“I worked hard with trainers and a coach I had in the past. We worked insanely hard, but I broke down physically because of it,” Draper said.
“Ever since I got back with my old fitness trainer, Steven Kotze … I think I learned as well from the injuries that I’d had.”
His fourth-round clash with Machac, who beat him in straight sets on clay at the Gonet Geneva Open in May, could prove his toughest draw yet at the year’s final major.
“I’ve been watching his opening rounds here, and he seems like he’s really dialed in, not missing many balls at all, and playing great tennis,” Draper said.
“If I can just get out there and play some tennis that I know I’m able to, then there’s no reason why I can’t come through that one.”
(Reporting by Karl Plume in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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