On his way to winning the ATP500 Vienna open, Jack Draper lost just one set across five matches. He managed to match fellow Brit Andy Murray by winning in Vienna on his tournament debut. Ranked just 18th in the world, he became the lowest ranked winner of the tournament since Lucas Pouille in 2017.
It capped off what has been an incredible breakthrough year for Draper. A year in which he clinched his first titles at ATP tour level – the ATP250 in Stuttgart and the ATP500 in Vienna, made it to the semi-finals of the US Open, and put an end to Carlos Alcaraz’s Queens Club title defence.
He managed to match fellow Brit Andy Murray by winning in Vienna on his tournament debut
Last season, Draper had spent almost a year on the sidelines with injury, watching fellow Brits Dan Evans and Cam Norrie in the best forms of their lives. However, fast-forward a year – Draper sits at 15th in the world and looks like the clearest contender to fill the void left by Andy Murray.
The Brit worked with South African ‘Supercoach’, Wayne Ferreira, for a period earlier in the year to push himself into the upper echelons of the men’s game. It was in this period that Draper claimed his first title on the ATP tour in Stuttgart, beating Matteo Berrettini and Frances Tiafoe on the way – the first sign that the Sutton born youngster was developing into the glimmering player that took a set off Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, in his first Centre Court experience, back in 2021.
What makes Draper so special though? At 6’4” the 22-year-old possesses a powerful left-handed game, that excels on the quicker surfaces, evident in his success on grass and indoor hard courts this year, the two quickest surfaces. Its perhaps why Draper has evaded Murray comparisons throughout his career, as their games are vastly different.
Draper relies on his powerful forehand, whereas Murray’s best shot was his backhand. Draper’s serve is one of his biggest weapons, while Murray often had to compensate for his, at-times, pedestrian serve, and particularly his second serve.
It’s in fight and mentality where the two are most similar. Murray often played until his body could no longer take it. During Draper’s US Open semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner, he threw up onto the court three separate times, refusing to retire.
Ending 2024 with a 38-21 win-loss record and sitting at a career-high 15th in the world, Draper has a big 2025 ahead of him. Great Britain’s failure to qualify for the Davis Cup finals in Malaga, mean that the British No.1 has a full two months to rest and recover before the seasons kicks off again in Australia. He’s on record as wanting to shake up the top of the men’s game, and the skyrocketing of his ranking shows he’s more than capable of it.
There is no reason he shouldn’t be shaking up the game in the way he desires.
He’ll have to try to mitigate the physical issues that have dogged him and stopped his momentum, and he’ll have to adapt to the pressures that come with being British No.1, especially at Wimbledon – where this year, he exited in straight sets to fellow Brit Cam Norrie in the second round, on a day where he couldn’t seem to find the shots, we’ve become accustomed to watching paint the lines.
But if Draper continues turning what were once close loses into dominant victories, keeps averaging 81% first serve points won, and keeps outhitting opponents, then there is no reason he shouldn’t be shaking up the game in the way he desires.
