Proud Draper sees Indian Wells triumph as fruit of his labors

MIAMI GARDENS: For Britain’s Jack Draper, his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells on Sunday was a moment of pride and joy but not, he suggests, a huge surprise.

The 23-year-old enjoyed an outstanding two weeks in the Californian desert, enjoying an upset win over Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, after beating top Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.

In the final he defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune in straight sets — a triumph which moved him into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

Asked what his main emotion had been in the aftermath of that triumph, Draper said: “I think big pride ... to be able to celebrate that with my team ... in tennis, there’s lots of ups and downs, there’s lots of adversity, especially for me over the years.

“I feel like I’ve been on a big journey with my team and the guys around me, and they’ve been incredibly supportive of myself,” Draper said Wednesday as he prepared for this week’s Miami Open in Florida.

Draper’s Indian Wells victory was viewed as a surprise in many quarters but the player himself said he had felt an important win was increasingly within his reach.

“I feel like, I’ve been on a trajectory where I’ve been really consistent for a while, putting in great work, trying to really learn and grow, not only as a player, but also as a person off the court. And I feel like it’s amazing,” he said.

“That moment felt amazing, not because of the win and all that, just because, you know, the accumulation of all the hours spent, all the hard work, all the figuring out the problems and the things we need to improve.

“And to be able to celebrate that with the close people around me, my family, you know, that feels amazing,” he said.

Draper said his