The pace of tennis is relentless. Mere days after lifting the biggest title of his career, having fulfilled all his media obligations and photoshoots, and with scarcely time to digest the enormity of his achievement, Jack Draper is back on the hamster wheel of the tennis tour. More than 2,600 miles away from the scene of his latest and greatest triumph, which saw him propelled into the top 10, the Brit now has the chance to write his name in the history books with a rare “Sunshine Double”.
Only 11 players – seven men, four women – have won back-to-back Masters or WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells, in the Californian desert, and in Miami. Sampras, Agassi, Federer, Djokovic (the latter four times)... Could Draper be next?
It’s certainly possible. Across a fortnight in Indian Wells, Draper demonstrated the huge improvements he has made to his game. His serve, always powerful but occasionally unreliable, was consistent and precise; his groundstrokes and forehand pulverising; and his focus and concentration rarely wavered. When it did – in a 6-0 trouncing in the second set of his semi-final win over Carlos Alcaraz – he gave himself a stern talking-to and regrouped.
Mentally, he has made huge strides in recent months. While he wobbled serving out the matches against Taylor Fritz and Alcaraz, there were no such nerves in the final, despite the enormity of the occasion. He endured three five-setters at the Australian Open that should have been dealt with in three or four – a stat reminiscent of Andy Murray – but he was sharper at the key moments in California and kept his time on court to a minimum.
Even so, one obstacle to the famed double may be the sheer volume of tennis condensed into a short space of time. After his retirement in Melbourne, Draper withdrew from a tournament in Rotterdam, opting to manage his workload and the strain put on his body. Indian Wells was only his third tournament of the year.
His decision to slim down his tennis calendar has worked superbly – he reached the final in Qatar in between – but there is little time to recover between his triumph in California and his opener in Miami later this week, with the men’s tournament beginning on 19 March. The improvements to his endurance have been significant, but the demands of week-in, week-out tennis, especially at the upcoming grand slams, are gruelling.
After such a showing it, does feel like the sky is the limit for the new world No 7, and he made it clear there would be no resting on his laurels after lifting the Indian Wells trophy.
“I’m definitely believing more and more that I can compete consistently against top players in the world,” Draper said in a press conference afterwards. “It’s five sets [at grand slams], it’s a little bit of a change, but I feel like I belong completely.
“There’s a lot of things that can still improve in my game, which is really exciting. I feel like a lot of players maybe, they kind of maxed out in some ways. I feel like I’ve still got a lot to work on and a lot to uncover with my tennis.”
Now seeded sixth, Draper has a bye into the second round in Miami and will face a tricky opener against the winner of Roberto Bautista Agut and young Czech talent Jakub Mensik. Based on seedings, Holger Rune – who Draper swatted aside in the Indian Wells final, 6-2, 6-2 – is a likely fourth-round opponent, with top seed Alexander Zverev looming in the quarter-finals. The German is the top seed and has reached the Miami final before, but is in indifferent form, having won four, lost four since his hammering at the hands of Jannik Sinner (still suspended from competition) in the final at Melbourne Park.
On the other side of the draw, a familiar face is once again eyeing records of his own: Novak Djokovic could win an unprecedented seventh title in Miami on his first appearance since 2019, moving clear of the six he shares with Andre Agassi. The weight of history tends to spur the Serb on, but he will have to snap a surprising three-match streak of losing in the first round.
As at seemingly every tournament this year, Djokovic and Alcaraz have been drawn in the same half. Neither have an easy route to the final: Djokovic’s quarter is helmed by Daniil Medvedev, champion in Miami two years ago and a semi-finalist in Indian Wells last week. Alcaraz, meanwhile, is the youngest man to win Miami and is always a contender, but you never quite know what you’ll get when he steps on court. He also has an unfriendly draw, with 12th seed Tommy Paul and veteran Grigor Dimitrov in his quarter.
On Britwatch, Cam Norrie has also been drawn in Draper’s half as he looks to build on an encouraging start to his season. He opens against China’s Bu Yunchaokete on Wednesday and a win would take him through to face 10th seed Alex de Minaur in the second round. Jacob Fearnley and Billy Harris must get through their final two rounds of qualifying to join the pair in the main draw.
History is also on the line in the women’s draw. Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva, at just 17, is possibly the most exciting prospect across men’s and women’s tennis and produced the run of her fledgling career to win in California, beating world No 2 Iga Swiatek and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka back to back to lift the title. If she wins Miami, she would become the youngest-ever champion there, and it would be her third consecutive WTA 1000 title after victory in Dubai last month and Indian Wells.
Swiatek is in the same half of the draw as Andreeva, so a replay of their semi-final could be in order, while British No 1 Katie Boulter has been drawn in Swiatek’s section and faces a difficult opener against American Peyton Stearns, who is ranked just eight places below her. Emma Raducanu is also in action after a first-round exit in California, against wildcard Sayaka Ishii, with a tough second-round opponent awaiting in eighth seed Emma Navarro.
