“There’s much harder work out there”: Jack Draper’s reflection after Carlos Alcaraz’s documentary

Jack Draper achieved a resounding victory against Tommy Paul (6-2, 6-2) and advanced for the fourth time in his career to the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000, although for the first time on clay courts. The recent Indian Wells champion was asked about Carlos Alcaraz’s recent documentary and his thoughts on the sacrifices in tennis.

The British No. 1 was asked in a press conference about the sacrifices in a tennis player's life, referring to Alcaraz's words in his documentary. “I don’t know if you read the comment from Alcaraz’s documentary about sometimes doubting if he’s ready to make the necessary sacrifices to be the best, to be one of the best of all time,” they asked Draper. “I wonder what your relationship is with the sacrifices necessary to be at the highest level, and if you sometimes also ask yourself: 'Do I want to do this with my life?'"

“I doubt myself every day. Can I keep going?” he responded. “There’s no denying I think that in any professional sport, but especially in tennis, it’s so relentless. We’re playing, we’re competing, we’re away from our families, we’re just sacrificing our lives. I think if you do this sport properly as well and give it everything every day, you know, it’s tough.”

The world No. 6 is the highest-ranked player in the Madrid Open quarterfinals and will face the tournament's surprise, Matteo Arnaldi, who eliminated Novak Djokovic and Frances Tiafoe along the way. Without a doubt, Draper's rise has him as one of the best in the world after a good few months that led to his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, succeeding Alcaraz himself, the defending champion of the tournament, whom he eliminated in the semifinals.

“If you want to be great then these are the things you have to do. It’s not like we’re… there’s much harder work out there, you know, putting things in perspective,” he continued. “I do a sport I love, I get to travel with amazing people, earn good money. And, you know, it is really, really mentally challenging, physically challenging, but I think, yeah, I kind of, I enjoy that.”

Draper has struggled with injuries since the beginning of his career, but seems to have left those physical problems behind recently. However, with a busy schedule, it is difficult for Draper to anticipate the length of his career. “So I don’t know how long I’ll play for, I don’t know if I’ll play until I’m in the mid 30s, I don’t know when I’ll play to, so I’m just going to try and make the best out of my career, hopefully try and fulfil my potential,” he claimed. “I know that in order to do that, then I need to give everything.”