New British number 1 Jack Draper reached his first grass court final on the ATP Tour by beating American Brandon Nakashima in Stuttgart.
Draper won a deciding set epic against another American in Frances Tiafoe on Friday and continued his dominant run in Germany by thrashing aside Nakashima 6-3, 6-3.
The 22-year-old is on his way to number 32 in the world in the live rankings and is peaking at the right time as he looks for a first title on the grass court, as well as a placement at Wimbledon.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Draper said on court.
‘I will do my best (in the final). “Everyone here is an incredible player, so if I come out and play like I always have, I’ll give myself a good chance (of winning).”
Jack Draper will play in Stuttgart on Sunday for his first grass-court title on the ATP Tour
The newly crowned British No. 1 made easy work of Brandon Nakashima, beating him 6-3, 6-3
Draper pitched in Germany as the tournament’s sixth seed but found himself in disappointing form after having a difficult swing on the clay with three straight losses.
The Briton, who will face Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti in Sunday’s final, went away focusing on becoming more aggressive as he tries to win his first ATP Tour title.
He has previously reached the semi-finals twice, losing to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino at the Sofia Open in November 2023 and to Czech Jiri Lehecka at the Adelaide International in January.
“James Trotman, my current coach and I, had been working together for a long time and we felt we needed another voice to talk about a few things,” Draper told Mail Sport on Friday.
‘[Wayne Ferreira] always tried to get me to be more aggressive, but I don’t think I got that far, to the realization that I needed to change.
“After the first few events on the clay court where I had chances in all the games I lost, I realized I was trying to make them miss, and these top players don’t miss, especially in those big moments.
‘I think we see it with (Carlos) Alcaraz in the French Open final, you have to go out at this level with the way men’s tennis is changing, to win the match and you have to win it on your own terms . If you don’t, these guys are going to beat you. So I really had to look at myself and think: how am I going to change?’
Especially this week in Stuttgart, Draper’s serve was a crucial weapon, scoring 31 aces in the win over Tiafoe and another 13 in the straight sets win over Nakashima.
Draper peaks at exactly the right time and owes this to a new, more aggressive playing approach
It was one of the areas where specific improvement was desired after a shoulder injury.
“The serve is a big factor in all of this, but also, you know, my return position, I’ve been on the court in droves,” he said.
“I think if you watch any of my matches before the clay court season, you’ll see me so far back, even last year on the grass and hard courts.
‘Earlier this year I always stood very far back and I completely changed that.
“I’m returning to the court now, so that has helped me a lot. And I’m just trying to get forward more, trying to use my presence and just trying to play like a 6-foot-4 four player, but with all the things involved.
“So I’m really happy with my mindset and how I’ve embraced the change and embraced the people around me telling me that I need to change. And hopefully the intention is to release it there.”
He added: “I can still win a lot of games when I play as a defensive player. There are 35 in the world who play that way. I’m going to beat top 50 guys and great players, but if I want to be a top 10 player and hopefully compete for big, big titles, I’m aware that people like Alcaraz are taking it into another gear.
“They’re not going to beat themselves. You have to have the game to beat them.”