'It's my biggest strength' - Jack Draper explains how 'fearing his opponents' has led to his meteoric rise

After climbing to a career-high ranking of World No.5, Jack Draper admitted a healthy fear of his opponents played a significant role in his recent success on the ATP Tour.

The British No.1 looked impressive at the start of the 2025 season, finishing runner-up to Andrey Rublev at the Qatar Open. However, Draper shocked the tennis community by winning Indian Wells a few weeks later, notching the biggest title of his career.

Respect for an opponent brings the best out of him, says Draper

The London native has also been impressive on clay this season, which he admits is not his favorite surface. Draper battled his way to the final at the Madrid Open last week, where he fell in a three-set slugfest to former World No.2 Casper Ruud.

As Draper prepares for this week's Rome Open, the 23-year old acknowledged there was a bigger target on his back as he climbed the rankings. However, fearing his opponents serves to motivate him.

"There are more commitments, more eyes on you," said Draper. "I feel a bit more confident in myself, more calmer, walking around the tournaments thinking belong a bit more at the top level, among the top-ranked players. It just feels great, a dream come true.
"I've always feared a lot of things, I definitely feared my opponents. People can say that's being open and vulnerable, but for me, honestly, that's the thing I wouldn't change out of anything. It's my biggest strength, my strength to know that when I go out there I'm going to compete as hard as I can for every ball out of respect for all these guys.

"Regardless of my ranking I've always been the same. I've used that fear and doubt to motivate me to want to do the best I can for every match. Nothing changes regardless of what level I am.
"The rankings are important but at the same time winning a Masters 100, a 500, a 250, and making the semis of a Grand Slam all in the last year is something that I can always draw back on when I'm feeling low on confidence and say 'you're a good player, Jack, don't worry about it' so just having those results to lean back on."