Jack Draper achieved the most significant victory and earned the largest sum of money in his career with a commanding performance in the desert.
The left-handed player from Sutton became the fifth British player – following Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Tim Henman, and Greg Rusedski – to win a Masters 1000 title, a category of tournaments just below the four Grand Slams in prestige.
Draper’s dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over an out-of-form Holger Rune at the Indian Wells Open secured him a massive £930,000 prize for two weeks of competition in Palm Springs.
He served a total of ten aces against a frustrated Rune, 21, mirroring Norrie’s triumph on the same court four years prior.
Draper, who secured victory in just 68 minutes, less than a day after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final, fell to his knees and pointed both fingers towards the sky in celebration.
He expressed, “It’s unbelievable. I wasn’t expecting this. I have invested a lot of effort over time.”
“I am incredibly grateful and happy to be here, to be able to compete, my body feels healthy, and my mind feels great.
“It feels like all the hard work I’ve put in over the past few years is culminating on the grand stage. It’s hard to express in words.”
“It was crucial to secure an early break. I approached the match with a good strategy. Yesterday, I experienced some fluctuations in my level against Carlos, feeling a bit low on energy. I learned from that.”
“I anticipated that Holger would come out and play some excellent tennis. I needed to be aggressive and aim to win from the very first point. I executed that exceptionally well.”
“I didn’t allow him to dictate play. I felt in control of the match throughout.”
“I honestly feel like I deserve this. Considering the amount of adversity I have faced, the sacrifices made, and the dedication from everyone around me.”
“It’s an emotional feeling to realize how much you’ve endured and invested.
“To be standing here now, knowing I will be ranked seventh in the world, it’s incredibly meaningful to me.”
Draper, 23, won the coin toss and chose to receive serve, quickly gaining a confident start in the breezy conditions of the Californian desert.
Within just 14 minutes, he had broken Rune’s serve twice and established a 4-0 lead over the Dane, who appeared unsettled and visibly frustrated.
Despite wearing almost identical tennis outfits and baseball caps turned backwards in the bright sunshine,
The difference in their performance was evident, and a composed Draper barely showed emotion as he effortlessly won the first set in just 29 minutes.
An early break of serve in the second set quieted the crowd, and it became clear that the match was not closely contested as he cruised to victory.
There was even a forehand winner so impressive that Rune himself applauded Draper’s shot.
This past two weeks, marked by the most consistent tennis of his professional career, will elevate him to a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world when the rankings are updated, just 60 points behind Novak Djokovic in fifth place.
Draper is next headed to Miami, but this victory is expected to have significant implications throughout the year, not just in the coming month.
This win will establish him as a serious contender in major tournaments, especially Wimbledon, which is less than four months away.
Earlier in the day, Russian Mirra Andreeva, only 17 years old, was moved to tears after coming back from a set down to upset world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles final.
