Jack Draper ‘deserves’ new career high after winning Indian Wells title

Jack Draper believes his hard work is paying off after thrashing Holger Rune to win the biggest title of his career at Indian Wells, a result that will see the 23-year-old move up to a ranking of seventh in the world.

Draper won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in style by demolishing Rune 6-2 6-2 in just 68 minutes on Sunday, backing up his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

The Briton will be rewarded with a place in the world’s top 10 and Draper said he “deserves” to stand next to the game’s best after a difficult couple of years dealing with injuries and physical issues.

He told Sky Sports: “I feel like I deserve it in all honesty. The amount of adversity I've been through, the amount of sacrifices, the amount of time that all the people around me have put into and the hard work.

“It's an emotional feeling to know how much you've gone through and put in and to be here now and to say that I'm gonna be No 7 in the world tomorrow. Honestly it means… I can't tell you how much that means.”

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Draper’s third career title was his biggest to date and follows a run to the US Open semi-finals last season. He also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open this year, but on both occasions suffered injury set-backs after playing best-of-five.

He recovered in time to play Indian Wells, one of the biggest tournaments in tennis outside the grand slams, and enjoyed an impressive run that included wins over Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

The 23-year-old saved his most complete performance until last, however, and served brilliantly during his first ATP Masters final. Draper broke Rune early in both sets and did not face a break point on serve throughout the match.

"It’s incredible. I wasn’t expecting this,” he said. “I put in a lot of work over time. I’m just so grateful and happy to be out here to play with my body feeling healthy and feeling great in my mind.

"All the work I’ve done over the last few years, it feels like it’s all coming together on the big stage. I cannot put that into words."

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Draper made a fast start against Rune, breaking him in the opening game and then doing so again at his next attempt en route to taking the first set. The British No 1 was then a break up at the first opportunity again in set two as he surged to victory.

He said the experience of his semi-final win over Alcaraz was key to his confidence but also something he had to quickly move on from to focus on the final.

“I hadn’t kind of felt that way on the court for a while where I felt like my energy was kind of sapped from the emotions from the match with Carlos and the environment and who I was playing,” Draper said.

“That third set yesterday was huge for me, because I came in today knowing this is a final, I might have the same feelings. But in truth, I felt kind of a bit nervous before I played but then when I got out on the court, I felt amazing. I felt like I was in control. I knew what I needed to do.”