Coming into the clay season, Jack Draper is one of the guys to beat. The Brit picked up the biggest title of his career at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells last month, cracking the world’s top 10 for the first time. He’s now the fifth seed at this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters. But being a top player didn’t always come easy to Draper.
Earlier in his career, the 23-year-old struggled with imposter syndrome and questioned whether he belonged in the locker room alongside other great players. While he admitted the feeling will never fully go away, Draper now believes he can do things he thought “were never possible” and is using his anxiety to drive him on the court.
Sitting at a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world, Draper has enjoyed a steady rise to the top of the game over the past year. Once plagued by physical setbacks, the British star picked up his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart last summer.
Since then, he’s hoisted two more trophies and reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open. Draper’s latest triumph in Indian Wells proves he “belongs” at the highest level – but he didn’t always feel that way.
“It’s one of those when I first came on to the tour, I was speaking to Jacob [Fearnley] about it last week, it’s kind of like you have that imposter syndrome,” the British No. 1 said on Sunday.
“You’re in the changing rooms with all these amazing players who play great tennis and you’re thinking, ‘Do I belong here? Do I belong at this sort of venue?’
“And even in the position I am in now, and I think for the rest of my career, I still feel like, especially in tennis, where you can win a tournament and then go and lose first round, that I always feel like I need to prove something, always feel like I need to show that I belong at the highest level not only to everyone else, but myself as well. So some of that never will go away, I don’t think.”
Draper’s first tour-level title in Stuttgart last June proved to be a turning point, giving him a “sense of calm” and something to show for his hard work. Now, he feels he can achieve the impossible.
“I think having that Stuttgart title really helped me to feel like, ‘Wow, I’ve got that now’,” he explained.
“And then I can build on that and obviously from there on in, semis of the US and winning Vienna, now winning Indian Wells. All these things there helping me to sort of feel like I’m really getting in the right direction.
“I’m going for things that I thought were never possible and to feel like I’ve done those things that I maybe thought weren’t possible, now to move forward and feel like the goals in front of me are realistic, that’s important.”
While the imposter syndrome may be behind him, Draper remains open about the stress and anxiety he can face on the court. But he’s happy to take it in his stride.
He continued: “I don’t mind about that at all. Like I think especially in tennis, it’s a real superpower to feel that.
“When I go to practice some days or when I play matches, the worst thing I’d want is to have no care and no feeling of being fearful and no feeling of feeling like things are against me.
“I think that’s something that makes someone compete great is the fact that they’re scared that they’re going to lose or scared that they’re going to play a bad match or something so that anxiety drives me on a daily basis to be at the top of my game and to be a better player and to put myself in the best position to perform well.
“Obviously, it’s something over time which I’ve had to learn to control. But I think with more experiences and more exposure at the highest level it doesn’t go away, but it sort of dampens.”
With the Indian Wells title under his belt, Draper now feels comfortable with his position near the top. “I think it just certifies more belief in me, that I belong at this highest level and that, I really have earned the position I’m in,” he added.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk