Jack Draper is setting his sights on challenging leading stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after claiming the biggest title of his career by winning the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
The 22-year-old celebrated his first ATP 500 title with a tense 6-4, 7-5 victory over world number 24 Karen Khachanov in the final on Sunday.
Draper, who won the Stuttgart Open in June – an ATP 250 event – was playing in his second competition since losing to the world No. 1 in the US Open semi-finals.
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Highlights of the final between Draper and Karen Khachanov at the Vienna Open
He plans to enter the Paris Masters this week and, after a break in the tennis calendar, hopes to “rock these players at the top of the game” next season after an impressively successful campaign.
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” said Draper, who was ranked in the top 15 thanks to his performance in the Austrian capital.
“I’ll focus on next week and then I’ll look to get some rest and maybe not think about tennis.
“It’s been a long year and it’s taken a lot out of me.
“Then I will bounce back and come back again next year with even more motivation to change those guys at the top of the game – the likes of Siner and Alcaz.
“If I can continue to improve physically and continue to get more and more experience at this higher level against the best players, then I will give myself a chance to compete with these players.
“But there is a lot of work to be done.”
Draper became the fourth British player to win the tournament, after Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and two-time winner Andy Murray.
He seemed on his way to victory after leading 4-0 in the second set, but then he was forced to make a great effort when Khachanov threatened to come back by winning the next five games in a row.
The seventh seed regained his composure at a crucial moment to win the title in an hour and 35 minutes.
“It feels unbelievable, it’s been a great week for me,” Draper said.
“I played great tennis and I keep improving and that’s the main thing.
“It’s been a long year for me with many ups and downs. I knew that if I continued to work well with the team, I would continue to achieve great results.”
If I can continue to improve physically and continue to get more and more experience at this higher level against the best players, I will give myself a chance to compete with these guys. Jack Draper
Draper’s progress was hampered by physical issues prior to this season.
He managed to stay injury-free before retiring during the ATP Championships in Tokyo last month after suffering an abdominal problem, which also caused him to miss the Shanghai Masters.
“I knew I was in good shape when I came here, but I wasn’t sure what my body was like,” Draper said.
“The nature of tennis is brutal because (last year) I was 40 in the world and I was injured for two months and my ranking completely dropped.
“I came back to play Challengers and I was grumpy, I wasn’t happy with where I was. I was working hard but things weren’t going my way.
“I knew that if I could put my body and mind in a good place, my tennis would be good enough to take on the best players in the world, and by achieving those kind of results, I have that inner belief now.”
How many hours of live tennis?
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Discover all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
From 4am on 28 October until 4pm on 31 October, you can watch a total of 84 hours of non-stop live tennis on Sky Sports Tennis.
What’s new in Sky Sports Tennis? Hong Kong Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3) Jiangxi Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3) Merida Open Akron – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3) Rolex Paris Masters – ATP 1000 (October 28 – November 3 – Draper in action) WTA Finals Riyadh – (November 2-9) Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9) Moselle Open, Metz – ATP 250 ( November 3-9) Nitto ATP Finals, Turin – (November 10-17)
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