En tant que numéro 1 britannique à Wimbledon, il y a évidemment un peu de pression qui entoure votre personne. C'est le cas de Jack Draper, qui a décidé de jouer le meilleur tennis de sa vie lors de la tournée sur gazon et à quelques semaines du troisième Grand Chelem de la saison. Début juin, il a remporté son premier titre ATP à Stuttgart, puis a éliminé Carlos Alcaraz au Queen's. Après plusieurs années de galère et un Wimbledon 2023 manqué en raison des blessures, le Britannique est prêt à frapper fort. Il est bien entré dans son tournoi en dominant Elias Ymer en cinq sets mardi (3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3). Il a rendez-vous avec son compatriote Cameron Norrie au prochain tour, un match d'autant plus attendu après le forfait d'Andy Murray.
Vidéo : @Wimbledon
Vidéo : @Wimbledon
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00:00How was it for you, Jack?
00:05Yeah, it was good.
00:07You know, obviously different playing on centre court, I was expecting court two.
00:12I felt like my preparation has been great.
00:15Didn't know what to expect from Elias Yema,
00:19but he came out firing, he was playing at a great level.
00:24You know, I think people have the narrative that only the top 100 players in the world
00:27or top 50 players in the world or top 20 players play great tennis, you know.
00:32I think the world's top 200 play or 300 play unbelievable on their day.
00:37And it was a really tough match.
00:40He was fired up.
00:41He came out firing and, you know, I was trying to find my level,
00:45trying to find how I could, you know, try and understand his game and stuff.
00:50And I think he did a good job in the end to come through.
00:53Did you feel at all tight about the scale of the occasion?
00:57No, not really.
00:58You know, I think confidence comes from preparation.
01:01You know, I feel like, you know, I've been building a lot all the time recently on the practice court.
01:07I feel like I'm hitting the ball incredibly well.
01:09There were certain times in the match today where, you know, I think because we don't often play on big courts
01:15and I haven't experienced centre too much, you know, it's a different feel.
01:19You know, it's not like the practice courts at Oranje.
01:22So there were times where I did find it a little bit difficult,
01:26but I think towards the end, especially when the lights came on,
01:30you know, maybe it was getting a bit dark as well at a certain point.
01:33So it was almost without knowing it,
01:35you kind of get used to playing in a certain way and thinking that's normal.
01:39Whereas when the lights came on, it felt like all of a sudden it was so easy to see the ball.
01:44And I think my level went massively higher in the fifth set because of that,
01:49like my serve, my returns and just the way I was playing.
01:53So, yeah, happy, happy with the way I played and privileged, obviously, to be on tenor.
01:59How different does it feel like coming here as a seed and, you know,
02:05more of a top player compared to your previous times here when, you know,
02:10you were still coming up and trying to find your way?
02:13Yeah, I mean, I've obviously only been here a few times, made the final of the juniors,
02:19played obviously against Djokovic.
02:21I was here for like a day then.
02:23So very quick and then made second round the time before.
02:27But it was funny, like when I arrived, I went to the changing rooms.
02:33There's two changing rooms, you know, I went to the changing rooms upstairs,
02:36got all my locker, all my stuff, you know, got everything I needed, got everything sorted.
02:41You know, that's what you sort of do as a player.
02:43You know, you get your locker and you're happy with it.
02:45And then the guy said, oh, no, you're in the wrong locker room.
02:48You've got to go downstairs because you're seeded now.
02:50I was like, OK.
02:51So, no, it was a great feeling to obviously come here seeded
02:56and just feeling like I belong a little bit more with the top players in the world.
03:01You know, that's exactly where I want to be.
03:02And, yeah, I haven't really thought too much of it.
03:06I've just been cracking on.
03:08How would you describe your relationship with Cameron?
03:11Yeah, I mean, I think we have huge respect for each other, for one.
03:16We've practised together so many times, been a part of Davies Cup together.
03:21I wouldn't say we're extremely close, but we definitely support each other.
03:25We definitely have a great relationship.
03:30And, yeah, I think it's going to be an interesting matchup against him
03:33because we both know each other's games.
03:35We know each other personally.
03:38So it's definitely going to be going to be a tough match.
03:41And I think it's going to bring out a really good level,
03:44because, like I said, we know each other so well.
03:46Andy, did you?
03:48Is there an extra rivalry now between the pair of you, now British number one and two?
03:53I mean, I haven't really thought about it too much, but obviously,
03:57you know, he won't like the fact that I'm British number one now.
04:01You know, I'm a lot younger.
04:03You know, obviously you've got Dan and Cam.
04:06Obviously, Andy might be stopping soon,
04:08but Dan and Cam definitely probably won't like seeing me, you know, being British number one.
04:13And I think that creates a really healthy rivalry in an environment.
04:18Like I said, like, you know, I think we all have great respect for each other
04:22and we all want to see each other succeed and do well.
04:25And, you know, it's nice to practice with them when I can.
04:29But for sure, you know, we're all competitors.
04:32We're all individuals and we want to win.
04:34We want to do the best we can.
04:36So I think it's going to be a really competitive match on Thursday.
04:41And, yeah, there won't be any love loss for sure.
04:45Sounds like a thriller Thursday because you've got you and Cam,
04:48Katie and Harrop, Andy Murray's last ever match at Wimbledon,
04:51Jacob Fernley against Djokovic.
04:53Just talk about that, it's going to be quite a general election aside.
04:56It's going to be quite an interesting day, isn't it?
04:58Yeah, it will be.
05:01You know, it'll be interesting to see what courts we're all on.
05:05I think, you know, it's obviously tough for Andy to pull out today,
05:08but that'll be great that he's playing doubles with Jamie.
05:11Obviously, me and Cam's match, that'll be a good match to watch.
05:14I think Jacob playing Djokovic, I think,
05:19you know, there's a few guys who have gone to university
05:23that I spent lots of time with when I was younger who were,
05:27you know, top players in the U12, U14,
05:29and they just probably weren't ready to go pro.
05:31You know, Jacob Fernley is one of those who's,
05:33you know, you look at his results,
05:35he hasn't lost many matches on the 25s and the challenges.
05:38And I think he'll be someone who rises up very quickly in the ranking.
05:42So I think it'll be interesting to see how he gets on against Djokovic.
05:47I think he's an amazing player and he's a good guy too.
05:52And obviously Katie, you know, playing incredible tennis.
05:55She backed up her title at Nottingham, won today.
05:59So I think it'll be a great day for sure.
06:03Jack, sorry if you've already been asked something similar,
06:05I came in a bit late, but is it difficult,
06:10sort of, this sort of quite sort of pronounced transition?
06:15People are suddenly, with Andy's situation today,
06:18particularly making it look like a passing of the torch,
06:20is it difficult, everyone suddenly looking to you,
06:23kind of, you know, you're the British number one,
06:25you've filled that void.
06:27That's a pretty big space to actually fill.
06:31100%. I mean, someone just asked me about it.
06:33You know, like, I think it's going to be tough to emulate what Andy's achieved.
06:38You know, it's obviously unbelievable.
06:41He's won here a couple of times.
06:42He's been part of that big four era who are just winning constantly, constantly.
06:47And, you know, I haven't thought about that too much.
06:50You know, my goal is to keep on doing the right things,
06:53keep on doing what I'm doing.
06:55I'm improving fast.
06:56I'm gaining confidence all the time.
06:58And you can't think about that too much,
07:02because otherwise it will just drag you down.
07:04You've got to think of what's important,
07:06you know, and that's to wake up every day and try and get better.
07:09And, you know, I do believe if I do all the right things,
07:13if I try and, you know, stay mentally solid and physically keep on getting better,
07:18like I think that showed today, you know,
07:20I've put in a lot of work to get to the point where, you know,
07:23five sets is absolutely fine.
07:26You know, if I just keep on improving,
07:28keep on doing my best,
07:29then I don't see why I can't be a great player like Andy has been.
07:34Do you take any interest in politics?
07:36No.
07:37So you won't be watching any of the news leading up to Thursday's election?
07:41No, no.
07:42I mean, I mean, it's just it's a crazy busy time for us tennis players.
07:48There's not much TV watching.
07:49There's not much time to sort of be thinking about that.
07:56But obviously it's really important.
07:58So we'll see.
08:00Has there ever been a time in your career when you weren't like laser focused on yourself,
08:05when maybe you were looking at other people and comparing yourself to them?
08:09Yeah, definitely.
08:10I mean, I think it's a really tough transition.
08:14You know, when you're younger, you kind of, you come out of the juniors,
08:18you don't really know what to expect out of the men's game.
08:21And then all of a sudden you're going to the futures and the challenges
08:24and in the middle of nowhere and you're kind of confused.
08:26You're thinking, oh, this isn't what I signed up for.
08:30And you sort of realise how tough it is.
08:34And yeah, at that point, my head was all over the place.
08:37Like for years, I was trying to understand things.
08:40I was trying to work on how I could sort of just get better.
08:44But it was really mentally difficult, especially being sort of my personality as well.
08:49Like I wanted success, but I wasn't, you know,
08:53I maybe wasn't sure how hard I wanted to work for it.
08:57But obviously after the experiences I had with certain injuries and certain,
09:02you know, times where, you know, I was told by people how good I could be,
09:07but then wasn't fulfilling it and all these sorts of things.
09:10You know, I had to look at myself certain times and really try and understand how I could change,
09:16you know, because I think especially in this sport,
09:19it's tough because you have to be so mature, so young.
09:22And if you're not, then you're going to struggle.
09:25So, yeah, definitely I'd say from last summer,
09:29you know, a lot of things changed in my life off the court, on the court
09:33and became very, very sort of focused on what I need to do.
09:38Any further questions?
09:41One more.
09:42You talked a lot about your returning and standing in closer and trying to take the ball early.
09:48Why has it been a challenge of that?
09:49And what have you had to overcome to be effective at doing that?
09:53Yeah, I mean, especially when Wayne came on board,
09:58you know, that's one area that, you know, I had to really work on.
10:03At the start when I came on tour, you know, guys weren't really,
10:08they were going to my forehand return and I felt like a lot of times at the start of the year
10:13and the end of last year, you know, they're just sliding me wide
10:16and I'm hitting my backhand, I'm hitting it well,
10:18but guys have good enough forehands just to open out the court.
10:22And also I'm running a hell of a lot more, you know.
10:26If you're standing way behind the baseline, it's tough to come up.
10:29It's tough to be aggressive.
10:32And yeah, like when Wayne came on, we did a few practice weeks
10:37and, you know, I tried to do it, you know, at the end of the clay court season.
10:43And that's why I was really poor.
10:45You know, I was all over the place because it's tough.
10:47You're seeing the court in a completely different way.
10:49All of a sudden, you know, guys are still serving fast
10:52and you haven't got the same time as you used to have.
10:55So you have to be almost quicker with your actions.
10:58So you had to practice it all the time and get it wrong so many times.
11:03And I think, you know, I'm really proud of the way that that's transitioned pretty quickly.
11:08I feel like, you know, I'm returning well and I feel really comfortable at the court
11:13and it's helping me to shorten the points as well.
11:15So, you know, I think hopefully improvements that everyone can see.
11:21Did you have to change much in terms of like shortening your swing?
11:24Yeah, I mean, of course, you can't take as big of swings.
11:27Like if I think Elias was serving big second serves today,
11:30you know, serving 100 miles an hour on the second serve.
11:33And you have to be really quick.
11:36Andy, someone especially, you know, who stands up the court on the return
11:40and so compact with his swings, you know, if you're standing back,
11:43you can sort of have a big swing at it.
11:45Whereas, you know, not only is the court different because you're standing closer,
11:48but you have to shorten your swings.
11:50You have to try and almost use all the pace off the serve instead of creating your own pace.
11:56So it was definitely a big transition that one.