Indian Wells Masters champion Jack Draper wants to keep going and keep rising through the ranks. Draper defeated Holger Rune by 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open to win his maiden ATP 1000 Masters title.
The Brit is now the number seven in the PIF ATP Rankings and he would look to carry his good show in the upcoming Miami Open.
“[I’m] not really thinking about any outcomes, ranking-wise or events-wise. I feel like I have achieved a lot in the last year, and it’s been nothing to do with setting goals,” Draper said as quoted by ATP Tour official site. “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.
“Me and my coach, we try waking up each day and approaching practice, approaching everything I do in a very structured way and a very consistent way so that I don’t have many bad days. So when I do maybe have a bad day, my level is still very high. So 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.”
The Briton added: “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.”
The Briton recalled that he struggled mentally against Australian Christopher O’Connell in the opening round of California Desert in 2024.
“Last year I lost here, and I felt so uncomfortable playing here. My serve was really struggling. I didn’t feel like I was in control of the ball, and I lost my way mentally last year,” Draper said. “So I knew coming here this year is a challenge, not only for me but for a lot of the players.”
Draper will begin his Miami Open campaign on Friday.