Jack Draper scoops impressive $546,800 for UTS Grand Final London triumph after injury-hit season

Jack Draper scooped nearly as much money as he has earned all season during the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London over this past weekend sealing the title on home soil.

Making his debut as a wildcard in Patrick Mouratoglou's fast-paced new version of the sport, he was of course added to the line-up for home hopes and he delighted the fans with five wins in as many matches over the course of the three days. He saw off Holger Rune in the final winning three out of four quarters to seal it 12-14, 15-12, 13-10, 19-7 with the last quarter in particular leaving no doubt who was the best player over the course of the weekend.

Draper defeated Rune on Day One previously, with wins over Gael Monfils and Alexander Bublik also in the group. He then took down Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Sunday before completing the superb weekend with the Rune win.

“It’s been an amazing weekend,” said Draper. “To get a chance to play in front of my home fans was fantastic and it’s great to come out with the trophy.

“The UTS rules took some getting used to, but I feel like we had some high-level matches over the weekend and the fans seemed to enjoy it.

“I’m so happy I’ve been able to play the way I can, and hopefully bring that into next year. We both brought the best out of each other there. It’s not easy with this format – it’s very difficult to stay consistent and play each point as it comes.”

“I have to thank Patrick Mouratoglou and the UTS guys for giving me a wildcard here and I have loved being a part of it.”

But it has also been an amazing weekend prize money wise with Draper collecting $546,800 for winning his five quick-fire matches, not bad for a weekend's work. Also after an injury hit season, it is nearly as much as he has earned all year with Draper only collecting $737,907.

“I speak with my coach all the time about what my goals are and all these sorts of things and the main one we always come back to is you can have visions of doing great but if you’re not putting the work in and doing the right things on a day-to-day basis then it’s going to be hard to achieve what you want,” added Draper.

“My main goal is to fulfil my potential. If that’s to be a Grand Slam champion or to be top five or top 10 or top 20 we will see. But I do have big aspirations to be in that position one day. Fulfil my potential and then let’s see.”