Jack Draper ‘thrown into the deep end’ as Brit handed Novak Djokovic fate | Tennis | Sport

Jack Draper has a lot on his plate in Indian Wells. The British No. 1 is playing just his second ATP Tour event since he shut down his 2025 season in August due to bone bruising in his left arm. And he’s trying to navigate his comeback in the midst of a title defence after being crowned the Indian Wells champion 12 months ago.

There has been no easing in for Draper this fortnight. He had to come from a set down to beat former top-10er Roberto Bautista Agut in his opening match and now takes on No. 19 seed Francisco Cerundolo. And things could get even harder, with Novak Djokovic looming as a likely fourth-round opponent.

After storming back to beat Bautista Agut 3-6 6-3 6-2 on Saturday, Draper admitted that he needed as many matches as possible following an eight-month injury layoff. The world No. 14 only returned to competition during a Davis Cup tie last month, playing and winning one match against Viktor Durasovic.

He got back on the ATP Tour in Dubai a few weeks later and beat Quentin Halys before losing to Arthur Rinderknech. And the reigning Indian Wells champion believes he’s been “thrown in the deep end” this fortnight, coming up against tough opposition from the word go.

“Yeah, it’s difficult,” Draper said after his eight-month break. “I think the one thing that maybe is taking a little bit of time is the consistency in what I’m dealing with, especially on the match court. Obviously, practice is different. I feel like I have been practising pretty well for a long time.

“Obviously haven’t been able to maybe prepare exactly the way I’ve wanted to because of my injury, and coming back onto the tour, I have had to be deliberate and quite slow with what I’m doing. And then it’s difficult, because getting out here, you’re getting thrown straight into the, back into the deep end with top players like Bautista and all the guys here.

“So you have to quickly adapt to their play, and you have to remain focused all the time all throughout the matches. Otherwise, you can have ups and downs. So I think the more matches I get like today, where I’m able to come through some difficult moments and play better for it, I think it will help me. That’s just the process I’m going through right now.”

While Draper doesn’t want to get dragged into three-set matches in every round, he felt the benefits of spending more time on the court against Bautista Agut. “I think today helped me, actually playing three sets and being able to stay out there a bit longer and work things out and be in those tough situations mentally, because saving breakpoints and having adversity against you in matches, you can’t really replicate how you feel when you’re in that situation in practice and these types of things,” he explained.

However, the 24-year-old knows there are things he must improve if he wants to be competitive against the top players, including his potential fourth-round opponent Djokovic. Draper added: “There is definitely a few times where my level was just dipped a little bit, and you can’t have that, especially against better and better players, because they take advantage of those moments. I think the more matches I play, that will all clear up.

“And then physically, yeah, I mean, I want to spend a lot of time on court. I want to be out there competing more and more, but obviously I am very still fresh to coming back from my injury, and I have to be sensible and know that I have a long career ahead of me. I’m still a bit of time away from where I want to be physically, because I have to make up for lost time on the practice court and on the match court, but I’m trending in the right direction. So week by week, day by day, things are getting better for me.”

Draper takes on Cerundolo in the third round on Monday, while five-time former champion Djokovic is up against Aleksandar Kovacevic. Should they both win, they’ll face off in the last 16.

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