For three long weeks, as Wimbledon has gradually drawn closer, Jack Draper has had to navigate the growing anticipation within himself and from the world around him; he has had to field countless questions about his ability to handle the pressure and, in the quiet moments, he has surely wondered how he would deal with it all.
Now, finally, he can simply focus on playing tennis. Draper took his first step forward at his home grand slam as one of the best players in the world by defeating the Argentinian Sebastián Báez with a dominant performance, establishing a 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 lead by the time his opponent retired because of a leg injury.
“I obviously was aware of the buildup and all that sort of stuff,” said Draper. “I think my preparation has been really good. I feel confident. So I’m not thinking too much about that. At the end of the day, I focus on the things that I can control. I’m doing all the right things on a daily basis and giving myself the best chance to go out there and do the best I can. That’s all I can do.”
This occasion had been a long time coming. Over the past year, Draper has enjoyed a long-awaited breakthrough in the sport after struggling badly with injuries and physical problems during his first years on the tour. He is now the world No 4, a contender for every tournament he enters, a grand slam semi-finalist at the US Open and a Masters 1000 champion at Indian Wells.
While most British players usually enjoy some of their first notable results at Wimbledon, an unusual part of Draper’s rise is how all of his success has so far come elsewhere. Despite his significant capabilities on grass, he has already equalled his best showing at Wimbledon with this victory. On Thursday, he will attempt to break new ground by passing the second round for the first time. His ambitions, however, are far greater.
At No 38, Báez is one of the highest-ranked opponents a seeded player could have faced in round one but specialises in grinding opponents down in bruising, attritional clay-court battles. Not only is he uncomfortable on grass, a surface on which he has won just three matches, Báez is also in poor form and he arrived on No 1 Court on a six-match losing streak.
If Draper was feeling the nerves of this occasion, they did not last long. After spraying two forehands well long in the first few points of Báez’s opening service game, by the end of it the 23-year-old had already found his range on his forehand and he dominated almost every point with his superior weight of shot. He set the tone with an immediate break.
Draper served brilliantly, breezing through his service games, and overwhelmed his diminutive, underpowered opponent with his forehand aggression. For his part, Báez’s performance reflected his struggles on the grass courts. He looked completely rushed for time against Draper’s imperious shots.
Centre Court (1.30pm BST start)
A Sabalenka (1) v M Bouzkova (Cz)
O Tarvet (GB) v C Alcaraz (Sp, 2)
E Raducanu (GB) v M Vondrousova (Cz)
No 1 Court (1pm BST start)
C Norrie (GB) v F Tiafoe (US, 12)
K Boulter (GB) v S Sierra (Arg)
T Fritz (US, 5) v G Diallo (Can)
Other courts to follow here
After a heavy fall late in the first set, Báez eventually called for the physio while trailing by a break at 2-1 in the second set and he called out the physio again during the changeover after losing two further games. Across the net, Draper continued to pile on the pressure, rolling through to a two-set lead. After Draper sealed a break early in the third set, Báez finally opted to retire.
In the second round, Draper will face the 2017 finalist Marin Cilic after the 36-year-old eased through against Raphaël Collignon of Belgium with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win. “I feel like I haven’t yet found [my top level] on the grass,” Draper said. “I feel like it’s coming, so I’m looking forward to that moment when it all sort of comes together and I can really show my best level. I think I’ve still got so much to unlock on the grass. I think that’s really exciting for me. I love Wimbledon. I think if there’s any tournament I want to play my best in, any tournament that I want to win, it’s this one. I’m going to do everything in my power and everything in my control to get to that point.”
During the match, there were a few amusing reminders that Draper and the Wimbledon public are still growing accustomed to each other. As the crowd was repeatedly caught out by the trajectory of his spectacular heavy topspin forehand, at one point the sound of a cork popping out of a champagne bottle echoed across the court, prompting Draper’s head to spin round in search of the disturbance.
This is a regular occurrence at Wimbledon, of course, but with every victory he will get a little more used to everything that comes with performing on the courts he has dreamed of competing on since he was a child.
