Jack Draper doubts longevity of modern players amid ‘mental’ tennis calendar

Jack Draper fears players of his generation will struggle to match the longevity of their predecessors because of the demands of the tennis calendar.

The British number one was back in action a week after losing to Jannik Sinner in the US Open semi-finals as he led his country for the first time in their Davis Cup clash with Argentina in Manchester.

But he was unable to save the day as a 7-6 (4) 7-5 loss to Francisco Cerundolo after Dan Evans had been beaten 6-2 7-5 by Tomas Martin Etcheverry sealed the tie for the South Americans and left British hopes of progressing to the last eight hanging by a thread.

Draper arrived at the AO Arena on Tuesday and was rested for the following day’s 2-1 victory over Finland before replacing Billy Harris for this much more demanding encounter.

“I haven’t really thought about the US Open at all,” said 22-year-old Draper, who at least reported no problems with the right hamstring that had troubled him in New York.

“It’s been such a quick turnaround, I obviously got the flight home, then it’s been about getting over the jet lag, getting up here. I didn’t celebrate at all, because I wanted to be in the best shape possible.

“That’s the thing about tennis, we’re always onto the next thing. With the Davis Cup being the week after the US Open, for the players who do well it’s very difficult.”

This was Draper’s 49th singles match of the season, with the last two months seeing him go from the grass of Wimbledon to an Olympics on clay, then the North American hard-court season and now Davis Cup.

“It’s a mental calendar,” he said. “Since Miami time (in March), I just haven’t had any time. We went straight into the clay, then straight onto the grass, straight to the Olympics, straight out to Montreal, Cincinnati, training week, US Open, here, then it’s Asia, then it’s indoor season.

“It’s my opinion that it’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity any more.

“I look at the schedule, and I know players have done it for years, but the way the ATP have changed to two weeks with the Masters (1000 series) and these types of things, it’s giving us no time any more.

“There’s literally no break. It’s really mentally and physically challenging. I’m proud of myself for being here with the team, playing for my country. I didn’t get it done today, but I’m going to have many more chances.”

Draper only made his Davis Cup debut a year ago at the same venue, playing a part in Britain’s dramatic, joyous march through to the quarter-finals.

He was then beaten by Miomir Kecmanovic in the last-eight loss to Serbia, and he was edged out in a close contest here against an inspired opponent, who had Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister among his supporters in the crowd.

“I felt like I played pretty well,” said Draper. “The guy could do no wrong for a lot of the match. Etcheverry played great tennis as well. It’s been a tough day. I feel gutted about today. It’s an important match on Sunday and I’ll be ready to go.”

Draper admitted he defied the wishes of his team by playing this week, saying: “Rightly so, my team want what’s best for me, my body and mind. They’re the closest people to me, they want me to be healthy, especially considering my history.

“But I know what it’s like to play for my country, to be a part of the team, how good the feeling is to represent GB and walk out in front of a home crowd. I felt like, being British number one and in my position, it was the right decision for me to get myself up here and be part of the team.”

Evans was disappointed with his singles performance but Britain, who have not beaten Argentina for 103 years, at least finished on a winning note as he and Neal Skupski defeated Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-3 7-5 in the doubles.

That is likely to be academic, with Britain almost certain to need a 3-0 win over Canada on Sunday, when a record crowd of more than 13,000 is expected, to make it to the last eight.