THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 1, 2025

Jack Draper

Press Conference

J. DRAPER/S. Baez

6-2, 6-2, 2-1 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Give us your thoughts on the match, Jack.

JACK DRAPER: I thought it was a good start. Not ideal to come through that way. I was hoping I was going to get a bit more time out there to play. But wish Sebastian all the best.

From my side, I thought it was quite clean, good serving performance, better on the return. Yeah, good first round.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You wanted to spend more time on court. I presume you must have felt good out there.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I felt like I was starting to serve a lot better. Definitely the courts here suit me a lot more than Queen's did as in a bit slower, a bit more time to feel my groundstrokes. I was feeling comfortable and feeling like my game was only going to improve, my movement was getting better. Yeah, I wanted to spend a little bit more time.

But obviously I'm happy to come through.

Q. Could you see what was going on with his leg? Were you ever in that situation where you had to try not be distracted by that stuff going on?

JACK DRAPER: No, I didn't really know what was going on. I know he called the trainer. I presume it was when he slipped. I don't know. I didn't feel like from when he slipped, the match, or the way he was playing changed too much. I suppose he was down. If you're going to do more damage, there's no point in carrying on.

No, I didn't really know what was going on, to be honest.

Q. Jack Pinnington Jones just won. Before the tournament, he mentioned that when you got your driving license you gave him lifts to the NTC. He said it was brutal because you got to his house at 6:30 a.m., be at the NTC about four hours before your hit.

JACK DRAPER: Jack is a really good friend of mine, to be honest. We live pretty close to each other. First time, sort of met him 2019, spent a lot of time around him, at his house chilling. We're really good friends. Obviously he chose to go to uni so I haven't seen him in a really long time. Nice to have him back.

He's somebody who is incredibly talented. He's, for sure, in my opinion, going to be a top 100 player. Like we've seen with Jacob, I'm sure Jack is going to be on his way as well to that because he's that good, honestly. It's really exciting for British tennis because there's a lot of these players sort of coming out of uni who have the level. They just need more time. They're going to be coming onto the tour. Jack is one of those. I think to win today in his first, I think his first five-set match ever, against a really good player, that's incredible.

I'm really proud of him, for sure. Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a good run this week or at the end of the day will finish the year with a high ranking.

Q. (Question regarding being an early bird.)

JACK DRAPER: No, it was one of those. It was like, Would you rather go 45 minutes earlier or would you rather sit in traffic for two hours? We always argued about it because it was like, he'd be hitting at 11, I'd be hitting at 9:30. He loved coming with me. We'd have a laugh in the car. We'd be talking rubbish all morning, so...

It was good fun.

Q. Did it feel different today, everything around it, given that focus is on you now as it hasn't been in the past as the top British player at Wimbledon?

JACK DRAPER: I was thinking before the match, to be honest, not particularly. I kind of play every match like my life depends on it anyway. All the stuff around it, I haven't really thought of. It's almost better when you're in the tournament than before the tournament.

I obviously was aware of the buildup and all that sort of stuff. I think my preparation has been really good. I feel confident. So I'm not thinking too much about that. At the end of the day, like I said, I focus on the things that I can control. I'm doing all the right things on a daily basis and giving myself the best chance to go out there and do the best I can. That's all I can do.

Obviously I'm the one who wants to do amazingly well, as well. I put pressure on myself, too, in a good way.

Q. The buzz around you, you try to block it out rather than thinking whether it could help you?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I think having the British support is massive. We're always playing with pressure. There's a little bit more here and stuff. But honestly, like, I haven't thought about it. I feel like I can handle things that come my way. I've been through a lot of things in my life so far. This is something that I can handle, for sure.

Q. You were saying you wanted to stay out on court a bit longer. Jessica Pegula was questioning five-set matches, wondering if there was some room for change there. Something that has been talked about, having three-set matches in the first week of a slam. As a leading player, what would you think?

JACK DRAPER: I think my personal opinion is that the Grand Slams, it's amazing that it's five sets. That's the prestige to a Grand Slam. It's almost a different sport. That's why it's so amazing to win one, because it's the ultimate challenge as a tennis player.

I think, yeah, they can be very long. I think, as a fan of tennis, the ups and downs of a five-set match, obviously only happens four times a year in the Grand Slams, yeah, it's tough for the guys sometimes playing so long. At the same time, I think if we lose the five sets, we lose the kind of prestige of the Grand Slams.

For me, I think maybe a couple years ago if you asked me do you want to get rid of the five sets, I'd be like sign for it within an hour. I think now I understand the importance of just how amazing it is to be able to play. If you're going to win one, it's like the ultimate challenge.

Q. You just mentioned now about the new talent coming out of universities. There's been a lot of chat about this next generation of British talent at this tournament. Some people put it down to the Andy Murray effect. Do you have any thoughts on the state of British tennis at the moment?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I think it's really positive. Obviously, yeah, Andy has had a huge effect on a lot of the younger generation, watching his success over the years, major success on the big stage. When we were younger, we were watching it on the Sky Sports, watching him lift those big trophies.

I think, yeah, it's really exciting both on the men's and women's side. On the men's, you got guys like Johannus Monday, Loffhagen, Pinnington Jones, Fery. There's so many young guys that have done that college route because maybe they weren't ready to fully go pro. They can come out and play incredibly well. It's just their journey. They are obviously coming out a bit later.

On the women's side, you have got Emma, the younger girls like Mimi Xu, Klugman, Stoiber. I forgot the other one's name. I think it's really exciting, British tennis. We're in a good spot. Everyone has a really good work ethic. Again, I think Andy has shown the way for that. Dan and Cam. The work ethic, the desire to get better as a player.

I think, yeah, it's really exciting what we're going to have in the next 10 years for me. It's cool to be a part of that.

Q. I think some people maybe forget that this is only your third win at Wimbledon. Do you feel completely comfortable? Do you feel you're still sort of finding your way?

JACK DRAPER: As in? What do you mean?

Q. On the Wimbledon courts. You're still pretty inexperienced in some ways in terms of the number of matches you've actually played at Wimbledon.

JACK DRAPER: I think the junior Wimbledon run helps me, even though it was a very long time ago. I think just grass in general is a surface I'm still trying to find my best level on it, if that makes sense. Like on the hard courts at US Open, even on the clay this year, I think I found my best level for what I can play right now. I feel like I haven't yet found that on the grass.

I feel like it's coming, so I'm looking forward to that, that moment when it all sort of comes together and I can really show my best level.

I think I've still got, yeah, so much to unlock on the grass. I think that's really exciting for me. I love Wimbledon. I think if there's any tournament I want to play my best in, any tournament that I want to win, it's this one. I'm going to do everything in my power and everything in my control to get to that point.

Q. You play Marin Cilic next. What are your thoughts going into that match? Have you practiced before? He's been up and down in terms of tour events.

JACK DRAPER: I haven't hit with him at all. I haven't really seen him around an awful lot.

Unbelievable career. Amazing player. Obviously been one of the most consistent guys out there. I'm not sure how many years he was in the top 10, top 15. Used to watch him play all the time.

I looked at his results. He won in Nottingham. Anyone who wins a challenger on the grass before coming here, they're feeling good on the grass. I think he won in straights today. So it's going to be a really tough challenge. I'm ready for that.

As I said, I have huge respect for him. I think he's a really dangerous player and someone I'm going to have to play really, really well against if I'm going to give myself a chance.

Q. Just wanted to take you back a year, nothing compared to the hype and form you've been in this year, but you won the title in Stuttgart. There was a certain amount of hype, expectation, internal expectation from you, the tough match against Cam. I just wondered, how hard did you take that loss? What did you take from it? Obviously the slam after that you ended up having the big breakthrough.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I think the loss to Cam really hurt me last year. I felt like he played really well on the day. It did get to me, the pressure I was putting on myself. I definitely look back a year on and I feel a lot calmer in myself. This year I feel more confident in my ability and my ability not only to play but to problem solve, to know how to play in five sets.

I think, yeah, I took from that that I needed to be mentally better. For sure, I needed to just, I think last year was my first year kind of on the tour. So I was kind of still figuring out a lot of things. When I come against experienced guys, I think they'd maybe unlock my weaknesses a little bit. Especially someone like Cam, who I practiced with a lot.

I think it was just another chance to look at myself and mature again and realize that I need to improve so much if I'm going to be at the point where I'm going to be a top player, I guess.

Q. The college thing. Obviously things have worked out well in your career. Was there ever a time when you thought you should have done that when you were playing future events?

JACK DRAPER: No, in all honesty, it's almost like some people, they just want to get away from the UK. I didn't want to go to uni and stuff. I never felt the need to go out and party and all that sort of stuff. I was more trying to navigate how I was going to be a pro player. It was more the working hard that I wanted to sort of unlock within myself. I've never been someone who wants to, you know, not ready. I have to go and party for a few months to get it out of my system. I felt like I really wanted to be a player. It was hard to navigate that.

I felt ready. A couple years ago, I was ranked kind of 40 in the world. I mean, I was 21. That's kind of the time to go to uni. I think you go to uni if you're not ready to be in the top hundred.

As a tennis player, you're only really making money, you're only really a player if you're in the top hundred. I know that sounds whatever, but there are so many amazing players out there who are ranked differently. If you're not ready to get through those challenges, it's better to go to uni, work on your game and come back so you're ready to really climb the rankings.