Cramp wrecks Jack Draper’s brave bid to oust defending champion Rafael Nadal
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It was when Jack Draper returned to the locker room that he felt all the pain of trying to get past Rafael Nadal, deep muscle cramps gripping his ribs.
On the court it had been mainly his thighs that had seized up, leaving him wondering what could have been with greater resources of physical endurance.
Over the course of a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 loss, he once again proved that he is the ultimate promise when it comes to trading groundstrokes.
Jack Draper felt all the pain of trying to get past Rafael Nada after their match on Monday.
This came as no surprise to the great Spaniard, who was relieved to have a win on the board after two losses this season.
“He is a great player with a lot of potential, young, with a great future ahead of him,” Nadal said. ‘It was a tough, tough match, total respect for him.
“I think what happened to him at the end is just a problem, but I think he’s in the right position to have a very productive season.” I’m happy to have been able to win against a great player.”
Draper knows that for such warm words to emerge, he needs to add resistance to a wide repertoire of shots.
Draper was making his Australian Open debut against defending champion Nadal (above)
This was the seventh time in eight games that he has lost when it has gone beyond two and a half hours. As Nadal stretched their match further into the final time of three hours and 41 minutes, the odds were increasingly stacking in his favor.
The defending champion’s own performance was undulating and plagued with more errors than usual, but Draper’s powerful punch was related to that.
“To go head-to-head with him on a big court like that is special,” Draper said. ‘I think I can take away the fact that my tennis is getting closer. And physically I’ll be the first to say that I’m still a work in progress.
At the US Open she also struggled, withdrawing from her third round match against Karen Khachanov after dominating him.
The British star (above) showed what a promising player he is during the 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat
‘I just need to research why I’m having it (cramp), but I also know that I’ve just really started with my fitness trainer that I’ve invested in (Croatian Dejan Vojinovic).
I almost felt at the start of the third that my shoe was right there. I almost felt like I was in control of the match at that moment.
If it had continued like this, who knows? Going on this trip in Australia, it was seriously undercooked, to be honest.
“I was really excited to have a great preseason. It’s a good opportunity to get five weeks of really good training, especially with my new trainer. I had two viral infections, so I had to take antibiotics twice. I lost five of those seven weeks.
Nadal said Draper is ‘a great player with a lot of potential and a great future ahead’
The cramps first appeared shortly after Draper had played an imperious second set to unnerve his illustrious opponent.
It’s clearly obvious that he needs to work on his staying power, less that he also needs to learn more about shot selection. That had been his downfall in the first set, playing some ill-judged drop shots when he was leveling a player he grew up idolizing.
Draper’s next scheduled outing will be Great Britain’s awkward Davis Cup qualifying round early next month against Colombia in Bogota on clay. At that point, his big serve and strong forehand from him should be lethal.
If you want a role model, you need only look to British left-hander Cam Norrie, the latest to stick around.
Draper’s next scheduled outing will be Britain’s Davis Cup qualifying round next month.
Dan Evans and Andy Murray were due to play overnight, but Kyle Edmund was heading home after a first-round, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 loss against young Italian Jannik Sinner.
Although a bit nervous at times, Norrie won 7-6, 6-0, 6-3 against French teenager Luca Van Assche, considered to have excellent potential, on Monday. The British number one will now face another Frenchman at Constant Lestienne, and it is the best chance for a GB player to reach the second week.
Dan Evans and Andy Murray were due to play overnight, but Kyle Edmund was heading home after a first-round, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 loss against young Italian Jannik Sinner.
That was always likely too difficult a proposition for 2018 semifinalist Edmund at this point. He is a long way back from three surgeries, but reported no negative effects on his troubled knee.