Jack Draper achieves unique milestone after recent impressive performances

Britain’s Jack Draper has achieved a unique milestone after his recent heroics. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the most talented players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, has produced some incredible performances in the recent past.

In 2024, Draper cemented a spot in the semifinal of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career during the US Open. He ended up on the losing side to reigning world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner, who came out on top in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-6, 6-2.

Earlier this year, Draper lifted his first-ever ATP 1000 title at the Indian Wells as he defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. With that win, the London-born star has now become the new world number six. With that, he is now the second-highest ranked left-handed player in men’s tennis in the 21st century. The only other left-handed player who managed to have a better ranking than Draper in this century is none other than Spain’s Rafael Nadal.

The 38-year-old, who retired from professional tennis in 2024 after representing Spain in the Davis Cup, is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles. Nadal, who is also known as the ‘King of Clay’ for winning 14 French Open titles, remained world number one for over 200 weeks in his career.

On the other hand, Draper, who suffered an early exit in his previous outing at the Miami Open where he lost to the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik, will now be hoping to build on his impressive performances in the recent performances in the clay-court season where he will be starting his singles category campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters with the match against America’s Marcos Giron in the round of 32 on Tuesday.