Jack Draper believes he is on the right track in his recovery from injury despite admitting to feeling “gassed” towards the end of his Indian Wells campaign last week.
World No 26 Draper is set to be in action at the Miami Open this coming fortnight, with the 24-year-old looking to continue his return to tour following a six-month injury layoff.
The Brit withdrew from the second round of the US Open last summer due to an ongoing left-arm injury and did not compete on the ATP Tour again until February 2026, reaching the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Tennis News
Miami Open: What is the ‘Sunshine Double’ and can Jannik Sinner & Aryna Sabalenka achieve it?
Draper then entered Indian Wells as the defending champion and impressed on his way to the quarter-final, stunning Novak Djokovic in round four.
However, he was then beaten by eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the last eight, and has fallen outside the top 20 of the ATP Rankings as a result.
Despite a difficult rankings drop, the world No 26 produced a better level of tennis than many were expecting in Indian Wells, with Draper seemingly further ahead in his comeback than most would have predicted.
And, while he is not where he wants to be yet, the former world No 4 is aware of what he needs to continue building on as he looks to surge back towards the top of the men’s game.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Miami Open, Draper detailed his approach to building his form and fitness back to peak level.
He said: “When you’ve had a lot of injuries in the past, you’re able to understand that if you put in good preparation when you’re injured, that anything is possible and you can get back to playing at a really high level.
“I’ve always been pretty good like that, even though it’s probably not the best thing to be. I don’t want to be injured, but those matches have helped me understand how I need to keep on improving and growing.
“I think when you’ve been out injured for a while, it’s not necessarily about the actual injury you had, it’s about getting your body to [be] feeling robust enough.
“For instance, last week playing those intense matches, you have to back up those performances and against Daniil, I was completely gassed out of energy.
“If you want to win those big events, you have to be able to back it up and keep going.
“That’s the physical aspect, but for the tennis aspect, the more matches you play, the more times you can get out there, and understand your game better, the more you are able to do good things.”
Draper will look to continue to build on his positive momentum in Miami, though the tournament has not always been his happiest hunting ground.
He has a 2-4 record at the tournament, having never made it past round two at the tournament in his four previous appearances.
Draper received a bye into the second round of the Masters 1000 event twelve months ago, but was beaten in his first match by eventual champion Jakub Mensik.
As a seeded player, the Brit again receives a round-one bye this year and will face either Reilly Opelka or Nuno Borges in his first match.
Should Draper prevail, he could face sixth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round, while it is also possible that he could meet world No 1 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final.
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Read Next: ATP Miami Open Predictions: Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev continues resurgence
