While managing a difficult hip injury that sidelined him for most of his pre-season, Jack Draper has played sparingly so far in 2025. There is no doubt, though, that he has made his few appearances count.
Faced with a difficult challenge against the most highly touted teenager in the men’s game, Draper opened his tournament in Indian Wells by completely neutralising João Fonseca’s awesome ball striking to reach the third round with an assured 6-4, 6-0 win.
Related: Nick Kyrgios in tears after retiring hurt at Indian Wells in latest injury setback
Draper, the 13th seed, stepped on to the court in the Californian desert with undoubtedly one of the toughest draws among the seeded players. Fonseca has been a breakout star this year, following up his headline grabbing win over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open by winning his first ATP title at 18 years old in Buenos Aires last month.
After a gritty win over Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in round one, he began the contest dialled in as Draper tried to find his feet after receiving a first-round bye.
In his short time on the tour, Fonseca has established himself as one of the most destructive shotmakers in the game. Throughout the opening set, though, Draper brilliantly neutralised the Brazilian with his defence, drawing out copious unforced errors from Fonseca with his retrieval skills while also flipping countless points from defence to attack.
With the opening set secured, Draper opened up his shoulders and produced one of his best sets of the year so far to close out an excellent win. Afterwards, Draper was effusive in his praise of his opponent, saying: “To be a part of that, to play against him, to see what it’s all about, is really special for myself. I saw it – he’s such an amazing talent, hits the ball so hard and he’s only going to improve. It’s just more experience at this level and he’s going to be a top, top player really soon.”
Draper has enjoyed an unusual start to the season as he tries to consolidate his position at the top of the sport after his excellent breakthrough season last year. Indian Wells marks just his third tournament of the season due to his hip injury. With so little rhythm, the 23-year-old has not always been able to summon his best offensive tennis, but he has fought brilliantly and shown his toughness by continually finding ways to win.
After a hard-fought run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, winning three consecutive five-set matches, Draper reached the Doha ATP 500 final with more tough come from behind victories. As he attempts to make a mark on the so-called “Sunshine Double” at Indian Wells and Miami for the first time in his career, Draper will head into his third round with a solid 8-2 win-loss record in 2025.
“I feel really good,” he said. “I had a few problems at the back end of last year and early on this year. It was a tough one because when I did play last year, I gained consistency. I lost a few first and second rounds, so I was able to train and go again. Whereas at the start of this year, I played a lot of marathon matches this year and then in Doha, I played another five matches at the highest level. I’m getting there but it has been important just to get it right at the start of the season.”
Draper will next face Jenson Brooksby of the United States, who pulled off an excellent 6-4, 6-2 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian 17th seed.
