Jack Draper hoping to continue good form after ‘amazing’ Ultimate Tennis Showdown victory
Jack Draper has won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, defeating world No.8 Holger Rune to do claim £430,000 in prize money.
Draper beat the Dane, 12-14 15-12 13-10 19-7, in front of his home crowd after receiving a wildcard for the exhibition tournament.
Jack '??? ?????' Draper wins the UTS Grand Final! ??#UTSLondon pic.twitter.com/fJzyTYTrXH
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) December 17, 2023
The event that is organised by Patrick Mouratoglou, who is the former coach of Serena Williams and the aforementioned Rune, is played in a different format to the traditional tennis scoring system.
Instead of playing by the score, matches are timed and feature four quarters that each last eight minutes, in the hopes of bringing a fun fast-paced dynamic.
And Draper reacted to his victory after the match, “It’s been amazing. 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.”
It has been a difficult past year for Draper, who has struggled with a variety of injuries and fell to as low as No.123 in August.
However, after achieving his best ever Grand Slam result at the US Open, reaching his first ATP Final in Sofia and winning a Challenger title in Bergamo, Draper has climbed back up to No.61.
Inside the baseline…
It has no doubt been a very difficult year for Draper, but these last few months have really showcased the potential that everyone thought the 21-year-old had. Although it is only an exhibition tournament, victories over top players such as Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils are going to give the British No.3 lots of confidence ahead of what should be a very exciting season, providing he stays fit.
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