Draper: 'I don't want to be normal, I want to be right up there'

Jack Draper didn’t arrive at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome to make up the numbers, and he is not leaving content with just a quarter-final finish at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.

The No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings fell to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets on Wednesday and, speaking after the clash, he was honest and unmistakably hungry for more.

“I obviously lost to a great player today. I'm very disappointed with the way I performed, in a way,” said Draper, who trails Alcaraz 2-4 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “I think from a mental and emotional point of view, you could say that's normal, you had a tough four weeks now.

“I don't want to be normal. I want to be right up there. It hurts a lot, this kind of loss. But Carlos played a really good match and he was the better player. I have to accept that, go back to the drawing board and really prepare well for the French Open, [knowing] that I'm hopefully going to have many more chances against these great players.”

Despite the sting of defeat, Draper can reflect on a stellar start to the season, in which he has surged inside the Top 5 for the first time and finds himself at second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Briton has particularly demonstrated impressive progress on clay by reaching his maiden final on the surface at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid, where he lost to Casper Ruud.

In Rome, Draper was aiming to notch his second win of the season against Alcaraz after he defeated the Spaniard en route to his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. The 23-year-old was, however, unable to contain his counterpart, who successfully managed the ebbs and flows of their 97-minute contest.

“I've been playing the last four weeks now pretty much,” Draper said when asked whether fatigue played a part in his 4-6, 4-6 loss. “I don't want to think about it or admit it, but it probably has a big effect I think on not just today but throughout the week.

“I've been struggling a little bit, like I said, to maintain my quality all throughout the matches. Today against someone like that, you can't have those dips in your standards because you get punished. At the end of the day that's not why I lost today. I lost to a better player.”

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Draper had won just nine tour-level matches on clay prior to 2025, but can leave Rome having doubled that tally with his run to the second round in Monte-Carlo, the final in Madrid and the quarter-finals in Rome.

“I've been playing some really good stuff,” said Draper, who is 22-6 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “I'm really proud of the way I've approached the clay season, especially so far. Obviously good results. Hard to keep on going. But I know that if I want to be a top, top player, I have to be consistent week in, week out.

“I'm looking forward to going to Roland Garros because I haven't been able to play very good tennis there in the past. This time hopefully it's a good opportunity for me to go and really put my game on the court and carry on with the momentum where I left off. Definitely after today I'll be very hungry to want to show some really good stuff there.”