Jack Draper wants to have a good, consistent year on tour, but the British number one has revealed he is taking “a lot” of painkillers to deal with the tendinitis in the hip that has hampered his chances against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
Draper's physical problems returned and he… He lasted just two sets of his fourth-round encounter with four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.
Draper entered the tournament with little preparation after suffering a groin injury in pre-season, which he admitted he still had to deal with.
Then he played three five-set matches, spending more than 12 and a half hours on court, which was too much.
“I basically had tendinitis in my hip, and I had to get an MRI to look at it,” Draper said during his press conference. “I had a history of problems in this area and it didn't go away. I'm still dealing with that.”
“Obviously in pre-season it (moved) to my back and I couldn't walk and it was really tough. I came in here and was able to deal with that. I was incredibly surprised at how well I was able to play.” And subjecting my body, more than I ever did before, I think it's just one of those things, just a massive overload.
“This area of my body, if I don’t do it right and I don’t make good decisions, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of it.”
Draper was due to spend a week training with Alcaraz in Spain in December, but was forced to cancel due to injury, and the 23-year-old admitted the problem is a “time bomb” which he is dealing with by taking painkillers.
“I'm going to have to get the tendonitis removed,” he admitted. “Obviously through rehab or maybe there's an injection you can give in that area to help it. I chose to do rehab. But obviously it hasn't gone away much. Maybe I'll see what I can do with that. It's not a long-term thing at all, all right.” What I need is to be sensible, because it is inevitable.
“I came here and played a tremendous amount of tennis and fell apart. The key to staying injury-free and consistent is to have that consistency in your body time where you're injury-free, training time, training time. Get your body right.”
“If you're dealing with injuries and playing through pain and taking painkillers, it's not ideal.
“I'll manage it the best I can, and hopefully I can run where I take care where I'm not playing with the pain and be OK, and not take painkillers.”
When asked how many painkillers he was taking, Draper replied: “All the time. A lot. Yes, a lot.”
I'm aware of the injuries, especially in the past, I just want to make the right decisions because I don't want to be out for months. I want to be able to play and be consistent, be consistent with my body and everything again.
Draper is “proud” of his efforts
Scheduling did not help Draper as he had to play in full heat on the warmest day of the tournament.
He was under pressure from the start and soon looked somewhat uncomfortable, but Alcaraz was erratic in the first set and the Spaniard only just got the better of him.
By the end of the second, Draper was barely able to chase down shots and Alcaraz was waiting for a handshake.
“Considering everything, I'm very proud of my effort,” said Draper, who reached the US Open semifinals last September.
“My tennis performance was pretty average. All week, it was really bad, actually, but my competitiveness, my fight and my desire to win is what got me into the last 16 of a Grand Slam, which is something I'm very proud of.”
“It's really disappointing, and I never like to quit. I'm someone who likes to do my best in everything, but I'm aware of the injuries, especially in the past. I just want to make the right decisions because I don't do that.” “I don't want to be out for months, I want to be able to play and be consistent with my body and everything again.”
Hinman: A step too far for Draper
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Tim Henman and Laura Robson have named Draper as the most improved player of the 2024 ATP season.
Tim Henman speaks Eurosport On Draper's retirement:
“It wasn't about motivation. He struggled hard with three strikes from five sets,” the former British No. 1 said.
“I don't think it would have made a difference if Jack had won the first set. I don't think he had enough energy in the tank to go toe-to-toe with Alcaraz.
“If we add to the equation that he had a groin issue in the offseason, it looked like he was struggling in that area and maybe the top of his hamstring.
“I think to some extent Draper's hands were tied. He went out there and made the attempt, but it was just a step too far unfortunately.”
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