THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2024

Jack Draper

Press Conference

C. NORRIE/J. Draper

7-6, 6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Jack, tough loss today. Give us your thoughts on the match.

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, I thought Cam played a really high level. All credit to him. He came out and, yeah, I think tactically got it spot on. I definitely, definitely struggled with the way he was playing.

Yeah, I was getting frustrated with myself. Was a bit too up and down. Yeah, credit to him. He played a great match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your frustration, was that due to the tactics that were delivered on the day or something else going on?

JACK DRAPER: I don't know. I mean, I was frustrated at myself because I couldn't -- yeah, I think it was linked to the way he was playing. I feel like we practice together a lot, we know each other so well, that sometimes he can almost take away what I'm good at, you know?

I feel like when we were playing, he sort of knew all my patterns of play. I felt like his backhand was incredible today. Just wasn't allowing me to do the things that I wanted to do.

Yeah, I felt like I wasn't able to be brave enough. I felt like the conditions were really tough in the first couple of sets, especially. It was tough to sort of hit through the ball the way I really wanted to.

Look, these things are all part of tennis. Today I didn't figure it out. I think great players, they're able to find a way. I wasn't able to do that today.

I'm obviously gutted with a lot of things. That's it really.

Q. Congratulations on becoming Britain's No. 1 last month. Did you feel you were playing with a little bit of a target on your back today? Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, as the saying goes.

JACK DRAPER: I think I've had a tough couple of years. Been injured a fair bit. This year the results, I wanted to do better in a lot of the tournaments this year. All of a sudden the grass came around.

I obviously won Stuttgart, had a great week there. Then making quarters of Queen's. I think I could have gone further. Obviously took on some really good players.

Coming here, all of a sudden No. 1 Brit playing at Wimbledon. Didn't play last year. I didn't really kind of know what to expect.

But yeah, I mean, it's kind of obviously just a bit of a learning curve for me. I want to have the responsibility of being the No. 1 Brit and to go deep in tournaments such as Wimbledon, the Grand Slams.

Obviously there's still a lot of great players out there. I'm still at the point where I'm 28 in the world. I'm not a top, top player yet. There's a reason why I'm not a top player yet.

I've got to keep on learning. I've got to keep on trying to get better and more secure in all areas of my game so that I can make deep runs in tournaments consistently.

Yeah, I suppose for someone like Cam, seeing me become No. 1 Brit, take his spot, obviously he's been struggling a little bit with form recently, he's obviously very fired up to come here and put on a good show and beat me.

Yeah, like I said, credit to him, he came out and he played a great match today.

Q. Despite the result, you still have the Olympics coming up. Are you going to be taking a few days off to rest or moving forward to be with Team GB?

JACK DRAPER: I'm definitely going to take some days off. Tennis in general is a very emotionally tiring sport. There's never, never any rest. You're just on to the next week, on to the next week. That's been the sort of case for a long time now. I'm definitely going to take a few days off, which I haven't had in a long time, kind of regather my energy, my thoughts.

It's obviously a really, really tough loss. You want to do so well. To go out in the second round, feel like you've let yourself down. Don't know. It's difficult.

I'm definitely going to take a few days off, then go on the clay at the National Tennis Centre and get ready to go to the Olympics, which will be a new challenge.

Q. Like yourself, there's a lot of good young players coming through at Surrey Tennis now: Hannah, Arthur. What do you think about all the new prospects? Do they look up to you a little bit?

JACK DRAPER: I don't know if they look up to me.

I think Hannah is an incredible player. For someone so young, I watch her train at the National Tennis Centre. She's just so mature. I think she's 14 or 15. When I was that age, I was still at school I think, like, playing other sports and doing different things, whereas she's got her team around her, she's got a really coach in Ben Heron. She has a great fitness trainer. Her environment is very professional. I think she's going to have an unbelievable career.

Again, it's all part of the journey. She's going to go through a lot of ups and downs. Yeah, it will come to her, though. She's an incredible player.

Arthur Fery, it's amazing. Him coming out of uni, obviously he's starting his journey into the professional game. That's not easy either. You've got to try and be ready physically and mentally. It's tough for all that to come at once.

In my case as well, I've had to learn a lot of things, I've had to get physically better, and all these things. It's just a constant journey to get better.

I think especially for those two in Surrey, I'm really excited to see how they progress. Both of them have great talent. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do.

Q. Did Cam's intensity surprise you today? Do you think he came with a point to prove?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, definitely. Cam, as I know him, he's an incredible competitor. He would have wanted to come out there and really, really play well and beat me. That's what he did.

Yeah, I mean, obviously with the form he's been in, I thought he'd be a bit lower on confidence. But coming out there, I thought he served great. His backhand was world class. I haven't played many players like that this year who have hit their backhand the way he hit it. Just his overall game was rock solid and very tough to beat.

Maybe part of that is linked to him exposing my weaknesses and making me feel uncomfortable. All credit to him, he played great. I hope he carries on in the tournament and keeps on winning and keeps Britain's hopes alive.

Q. The element that Cam has is he's left-handed like yourself. Has this been something you found difficult in your career, playing against a left-hander?

JACK DRAPER: Yeah, definitely. I'm still trying to sort of make all areas of my game really rock solid and to the point where my level is very consistent.

I think you look at those top players in the world, they're so good in all areas, they're so complete in many ways, regardless of opponent. Whoever they play, they go out there and they're able to get the job done and impose their game. I think sometimes I need to do a better job of imposing my game better, especially against different kinds of players.

Cam Norrie, he's extremely unique with the way he plays. His backhand is extremely flat. The way he uses the spins and different areas of the court, that's why he's been incredibly successful. People don't like playing him because of the way he's so unorthodox.

Yeah, I definitely think compared to a lot of players, I still played limited matches on the tour. The more experiences I get, the more chances I get to play left-handers, right-handers, whatever, hopefully my game becomes more complete.