Over the past seven months as he established himself at the top levels of professional tennis Jack Draper has stood across the net from many of the best players in the world, testing his strengths and learning how his game matches up against them. He has beaten plenty, enough to know how potent and special his game can be, but with every step of his journey he has also been followed by unwanted physical issues.
On one of the biggest stages of his career, Draper fought hard but more physical problems came to the fore as he suffered from cramp against a vulnerable Rafael Nadal. Despite his own glaring form and confidence issues, Nadal emerged from a tense, scrappy match with his first win of the 2023 season, outlasting Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
