"Alcaraz is the benchmark for me, that's who I judge myself against" - Jack Draper after Queen's win

Jack Draper has revealed Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu are two of his biggest inspirations as he tries to make his stamp in the world of tennis.

Draper, 20, has enjoyed a strong start to the season with four ATP Challenger titles and two match wins at ATP Masters events in Miami and Madrid. He also pushed world No. 8 Andrey Rublev close in the Spanish capital and beat world No. 14 Taylor Fritz in the first round at the cinch Championships at Queen’s this week.

His success has pushed him up to fifth in the ATP Race to Milan, with the top eight 21-and-under players qualifying for the end-of-season finals event. Speaking about things that motivate him, Draper said:

“Alcaraz is very special. I see him as a benchmark kind of player. That is who I am judging myself against. His standards, his work rate and the way he plays. Watching someone like that you can learn a lot and I hope one day I will be competing for big titles against him."

Read also

"I enjoyed my time out here" - Draper after upsetting Fritz at Queen's

He further added:

“I know about the race, but I haven’t paid too much attention to it, because even though I am high up now, there are players who are in the top 50 and top 100 who have access to ATP Tour events where points are higher.

“I am not getting my hopes up because there are a lot of extremely good young players coming through.”