ROLAND GARROS

May 23, 2025

Jack Draper

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, Jack. How are you feeling and how is the preparation going so far?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I'm feeling good. I got here a couple days ago now. Been good to get out on the courts. I wouldn't say I've had amazing memories here so far, but I'm coming back and feeling very different to how I felt last year.

Yeah, I feel really confident, I feel strong, and I feel like I'm in a really good place. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens over the next couple of weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Productive clay court season. In Rome you spoke a little bit about feeling a bit of fatigue. I think that was mental as well as physical. Do you feel you've had enough time to recover and refresh?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, it was good. I went home for a few days, just had a bit of family time, had a bit of time to myself. Obviously I think Rome, I still made the quarters, had a decent week. Definitely my level was very in and out due to the fact it was very difficult for someone I think to be on for about five weeks on the trot, with Madrid, preparing for Madrid, then going straight into Rome with no rest. Especially playing at this level, it's not easy.

So going home really helped me to sort of refresh. Obviously was looking forward to coming here. I'm in a good spot, like I said. I feel fresh coming into this tournament. I feel confident. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do, for sure.

Q. We talked about that French Open last year a few times, the way you turned it around. Obviously coming back here, that loss here I think was the only time you lost to somebody who wasn't relatively highly ranked for ages. Do you just think about how things have turned around since then, that match, now that you're back on the same territory?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, definitely. Since that moment last year, a complete change. Obviously was going through some changes, brought Wayne onto my team, was trying new things. I was trying to be more aggressive, probably going too far that way. Was just very lost in my tennis.

I still was able to make it a five-setter against someone who is ranked a hundred. I think about one year ago now, and I think, wow, like how much I've learnt through experience, but also the fact that probably then I didn't really understand my DNA as a tennis player, what I was trying to do on the court.

Whereas now, obviously a lot more to come, but I feel like I have a real good understanding and a good base of what I'm trying to do. That's helped me achieve a lot of success, because I feel pretty confident when I go out onto the match court.

Very proud of the way I've come in the last 12 months. I think that's a testament to the hard work I've done, the people I've got around me.

It's weird, I never won a match here, but I come here and feel good about my tennis, for sure.

Q. You're playing Mattia Bellucci next. You played him Tennis Europe, Under 12s, doubles. Playing with Jacob. Is it a bit weird to think that you're playing against these players your entire life and it's the same people?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I can't remember that. I remember playing him last year in Tokyo. I remember him and his dad going around to tournaments when we were young.

Everyone changes so much. I think he had blonde hair then. Now he's got the man bun. I don't know. I suppose when you're playing the juniors, you're kind of watching out for every player. I don't know, you're looking... At the same time when you're playing the pros, it's like you know everyone is a great player, you know they've earned the right to be in this draw, they deserve to be here. You know that they can pose a real threat to you and that.

I have a lot of respect for him. I think he's a great player. Seen him play some really good tennis. Last time I played, he was really tough to beat. I had to play a great match to get on top of him.

Obviously a different surface and I'm looking forward to playing him and just competing hard and seeing how it goes.

Q. I'm curious about on the topic of expectations. On the one hand, you haven't won a match here, so you'd think it would be very low expectations. On the other hand, you're the No. 5 player in the world right now. That puts things up high. How do those things come together in your head and how does it affect your thinking when you're approaching this sort of unique experience?

JACK DRAPER: I mean, I don't really put into account the fact that I haven't won a match here because the first year I played, the day before the tournament I ruptured my muscle in my shoulder. I came out and couldn't serve. My first round I had to pull out in the first set.

Last year, like I said, I was going through changes. I was trying to be a completely different player from what I knew. So when I've played here in the past, I don't feel like I've entered the court with any confidence or any belief that I could do pretty well.

Yeah, like I don't know, it's like I've been here but I haven't. I'm looking forward to, like I said, coming here and feeling like I am confident. I'm not aware of anything in my mind around how I can do here. I just take every match that comes. That's always my mentality. I'm never looking ahead too far. I'm going to work hard for each point and see how it goes.

But I think with the way I'm playing, the fact that I've really improved a lot recently and my ranking is going up and I feel confident, I think there's a good chance I can do really well. I'm looking forward to that challenge.

Q. Last year all the Brits lost in the first round. It's a bit of a stereotype that Brits can't play well on clay. You've done really well this season. Generally it feels like people are playing a lot and there's a lot of wins from everyone this year. Is there anything you put that down to? Are you feeling like a mindset shift or something happening among the British players as a whole?

JACK DRAPER: I don't know, to be honest. I'm kind of too busy focusing on what I'm trying to do.

Obviously we've got some great players. Emma is amazing. Jacob coming through. He's had an amazing year. He's someone who can play on all surfaces. I grew up with him. We'd have many battles on the clay when we were 12, 14.

I think just the level of our players is really strong. Katie obviously won a tournament last week on the dirt. I think it's a mentality things for the people from the UK. It's a bit like when an Argentinian comes and plays on grass. They have that mindset of I can't play on this surface. Of course, they go out there and they struggle to play on it. Part of it is because they haven't really played on that quick of surface before, it's very different.

I think with anyone, if you have the mentality that you can do something, you can be good at it. You can learn, adapt. My movement is very different on the clay. I have to learn how to get out of positions, what to do on that shot, especially on my backhand side. I can't just pump it down the middle because it's going to get picked off. I have to get behind it, U-shape. It's different tactically.

If you know that and you embrace that challenge of trying to be better and better on the clay and learn how to play on it effectively, there's no reason why people from the UK or any of these countries can't play amazingly on all surfaces.

Q. Denis Shapovalov was here and saying he couldn't find anybody to hit with. It has to be a struggle and a problem at some point. Is it stressful to be at a tournament and you don't know if you're going to be able to hit?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, if I couldn't find someone, obviously we're lucky enough on the tour to have hitters and people around.

Yeah, people get very, I don't know, paranoid about hitting with someone who is a lefty if they're playing a righty. I do understand it. It's probably not what you're going to face. At the same time, I don't care who I hit with. If I'm getting that ball in front of me, I'm able to hit, get in the groove, it doesn't really matter.

Maybe that's just the mentality I've grown up with the fact that not many people want to hit with lefties before tournaments and stuff. But yeah, whoever is playing Shelton or Shapovalov or someone like that, I know they'll be asking me for practice. I'm all good.

Q. Can you explain what are the advantages of being a lefty, one of the very few left-handed players on the circuit?

JACK DRAPER: I think it's obviously the fact that there's few of us, I think that helps a lot. Obviously playing a righty, we're able to get it into their backhands more, which probably in tennis people's forehands are generally better than the backhands.

I think for me, my biggest strength is probably the fact that I am naturally right-handed. My backhand is a shot which I've always been really confident on. So when right-handers go into my backhand, as well, it feels like a great shot for me.

I think I've got kind of the best of both worlds almost. I always say people say it's an advantage. Still trying to figure one out, I suppose.

Q. Back to the difference between now things are going smoothly as opposed to last year. How much does that feed into your daily business? Do you feel more at peace when things are moving along smoothly than they were 12 months ago, or are you good at putting your non-tennis away from your tennis?

JACK DRAPER: No, I'm definitely learning how to be better in that area, how to switch off more. Definitely when things aren't going as well, I don't know. My mentality is when things aren't going as well, when things are going great, I still want to keep on improving, I still want to keep on progressing and going for more and getting better.

I think when things aren't going well, that gives you energy 'cause you want to get to that next level of improving and being better. Also, at the same time when things are going well, you want to keep on that road and keep on doing more and more with the confidence that you have.

I suppose my biggest thing now is I'm trying to protect my energy more. When I do switch off from tennis, I'm trying to just, yeah, not have to do loads with the intensity of the sport and how full on it is, probably especially with the way my brain works around things. I'm learning to try and switch off from all things to give myself the best chance of being emotionally as energized as possible for when I train and do play matches.

I'm finding solutions for that, for sure. But it is an adjustment. I think as ranking goes up more, as things maybe change in my life a little bit more, I'll have to constantly adapt. That's where good people around me... I have all older people who help me with understanding their experiences and a bit of wisdom, as well.

Yeah, all things are good.

Q. You mentioned given how your brain works. Could you explain that a bit more, please.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I mean, it's a hard question to answer. I've always been someone who's quite wired, I would say. Someone who wants to achieve things all the time. I want to keep on moving forwards. Like, I have to be progressing, otherwise I'm struggling, you know?

That on one hand is an amazing quality. I remind myself of that at times, being a tennis player or being an athlete, to have that quality, it's like you're never satisfied. It's a big thing. But also at the same time you have to -- for me as well, the battle is learning how to sort of have my life outside of tennis so that I can relax, so I can switch off from the sport, and I can hopefully work out ways so that I have longevity, especially in tennis with the way it is right now.

The fact that it's week after week, two-week Masters events, there's never any time to rest or switch your brain off. It's important now more than ever to sort of get those fundamental things in place that I'm able to do that. But in answer to the question of how the brain works, yeah, I'm still trying to work on that one.