Jack Draper ready to handle heat at Australian Open

Jack Draper feels ready to handle the heat in Melbourne after a disrupted build-up to the Australian Open.

Expectations for the British number one have soared since his run to the semi-finals of the US Open last summer and he goes into the first grand slam of the new season as the 15th seed and a dark horse.

Draper was unable to start his season as planned at the United Cup because of a hip problem picked up in winter training, which also forced him to miss a week in Spain with Carlos Alcaraz.

Key to Draper’s hopes will be how he copes in the Melbourne heat, with the 23-year-old ending a five-set win in the first round here last year by vomiting into a court-side bin.

He attributed that largely to stress, an explanation he repeated after again being hit by sickness during his US Open semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner, although he now believes that was more a reaction to painkillers.

But physical endurance in hot conditions remains an issue, and it is something Draper has been addressing even while stuck at home in the cold.

He told the PA news agency: “This year I’ve really tried to do different things. Obviously I’m from a country where we’re inside a lot and it’s cold, and especially coming into a tournament like this where it is really hot, we don’t get a lot of that exposure.

“But I’ve been really trying to get that exposure, whether I was in the UK doing lots of heat sauna stuff and bikes in hot bubbles, and obviously coming out here two-and-a-half weeks before, that’s quite a lot of time to adapt.

“I’ve got a lot of heat training in and I feel good. I’ve been working hard on different techniques with my breathing. I’m a young player, I’m still trying to understand how I operate best in all areas.

“It’s not just the