Jack Draper feels Indian Wells title is ‘big moment’ as he eyes more success

Jack Draper savoured the biggest win of his career after the British number one defeated Holger Rune in straight sets to be crowned Indian Wells champion and win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

The 23-year-old powered past Dane Rune 6-2 6-2 in a BNP Paribas Open final that lasted just an hour and eight minutes.

Victory means that Draper, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the last four, is set to rise to a career-high number seven in the world rankings on Monday.

“It feels incredible to win here,” Draper said. “I have been watching this tournament since I was a young guy, watching all the champions play on this big court. It means the world to me, honestly, to be able to be a champion here…

“It’s definitely a big moment for me, getting inside the top 10 and to win my first Masters title just adds to my inner belief and confidence.”

Draper made a fast start against Rune, breaking him in the opening game and then doing so again at his next attempt en route to taking the first set.

Draper was then a break up at the first opportunity again in set two as he surged to victory.

He said the experience of his semi-final win over Alcaraz was key to his confidence but also something he had to quickly move on from to focus on the final.

“I hadn’t kind of felt that way on the court for a while where I felt like my energy was kind of sapped from the emotions from the match with Carlos and the environment and who I was playing,” Draper said.

“That third set yesterday was huge for me, because I came in today knowing this is a final, I might have the same feelings. But in truth, I felt kind of a bit nervous before I played but then when I got out on the court, I felt amazing. I felt like I was in control. I knew what I needed to do.”

Draper, who had been managing a hip problem coming into the tournament, is keen to build on this success but said he was not going to set himself any specific targets – instead focusing on the process that has got him to this point.

“I’m not really thinking about any outcomes, ranking-wise or events-wise,” he said. “I feel like I have achieved a lot in the last year and it’s been nothing to do with setting goals.

“Setting goals and saying you’re going to do something, it’s important to believe it but if you’re not putting in the work and putting in the sacrifice and the days of consistency together, then you’re not going to achieve anything…

“Obviously I want to be a great player and I want to achieve amazing things in this sport but my main goal is keep on improving and keep on knuckling down. I know there is a long way ahead of me. I’m very ambitious. I don’t want to just stop here. I want to keep on going.”