Jack Draper issued a warning to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after winning the biggest title of his career at the Vienna Open.
The British star named both Sinner and Alcaraz as he boldly asserted that he is motivated to “really shake up” the top players next year.
Draper delivered a superb display of aggressive tennis to down Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the 2024 Vienna Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old’s victory at the ATP 500 tournament in Austria saw him claim his second title following his win at the ATP 250 in Stuttgart in June.
Draper, who holds an impressive 37-21 record in 2024, has climbed to a new career-high ranking of world No 15.
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Following his win over Khachanov, Draper spoke about his development in 2024 and expressed his ambition as he looked ahead to next year.
“I’m really happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” he said.
“I’ll focus on next week and then I’m going to look forward to having a bit of time off and probably not thinking about tennis. It has been a long year and it has taken a lot out of me.
“And then I’ll refresh and I’ll go again for next year with even bigger motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game – the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz.
“If I can keep on improving physically and keep on getting more and more experience at this higher level against top players then I’m going to give myself a shot to hopefully be competing with those guys. But there’s a lot of work to do.
The Brit also reflected on his run in Vienna and the challenges he has faced en route to where he is now.
“It feels incredible, it’s been such an amazing week for me,” Draper added.
“I’ve played some amazing tennis and I keep on improving and that’s the main thing.
“It’s been a long year for me with many ups and downs. I knew if I kept on working consistently well with the team then I’m going to keep on having great results.
“I knew coming here I was on good form but I wasn’t too sure how my body was.
“The nature of tennis is brutal because [last year] I was 40 in the world and I got injured for a couple of months and my ranking completely dropped.
“I was back playing Challengers and I felt angry, I wasn’t happy with where I was at. I was working hard but things just weren’t clicking for me.
“I knew if I could just get my body and mind in a good place then my tennis is good enough to play these best players in the world and by having these type of results I’ve got this inner belief now.”
Draper will face Jiri Lehecka in the opening round of the Paris Masters this week.
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