Laura Robson identifies a player who will make a big Wimbledon breakthrough
Laura Robson on Jack Draper
Former British No 1 Laura Robson believes Britain’s Jack Draper is ready to make his first deep run in a Grand Slam, after suggesting he has reached a level of maturity required to shine at Wimbledon.
Draper’s thrilling win against Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club last month backed up his first ATP Tour win in Stuttgart the week before, where he beat former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the final.
Now he is eyeing up success on home soil at the All England Club and Robson told Tennis365 that the 22-year-old has what it takes to reach the second week at Wimbledon for the first time, as she believes he will have learned lessons from his 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-3 defeat against Dutch player Jesper de Jong at the French Open in May.
“I’m going with Jack to do well at Wimbledon this year,” Robson told Tennis365 at a Play Your Way To Wimbledon event.
“The challenge for Jack has always been in best-of-five set matches physically. We saw him come unstuck with that at the French Open.
“The fact that it’s his home Slam, he loves to put on a show, so let’s hope he can play well.”
British No 1 Draper is seeded in a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon and he is in a second of the draw that would appear to give him a good chance to target a run to the last-16 and beyond.
After missing Wimbledon last year due to injury, Draper has no ranking points to defend this week and that gives him a big opportunity to make a push for a breakthrough into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
“Jack looks amazing and I’m so excited to see what he can do at Wimbledon,” added Robson, who won an Olympic silver medal alongside Andy Murray in the mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympic Games, that were held at Wimbledon.
“I was so gutted for Jack when he couldn’t play in the grass-court events last year as it is so clearly his best surface.
“All of us have been waiting for an ATP Tour title from him for a while now and he played so smart in the final against Matteo Berrettini in Stuttgart.
“Then he backed it up by beating Alcaraz at Queen’s, so I’m very, very excited for him heading into Wimbledon.
“Everyone has been saying for so long that Jack Draper is going to be the next big thing in British tennis and now it looks like he will be.
“You forget how much time he has missed so far in his career due to injuries. That has meant he hasn’t been able to put the hours in on court compared to other players his age, so he has always been playing catch up.
“Now he is getting a chance to have a run of matches and we can see what it is going for him.
“He has been working so hard on the physical side of things, which gave him extra motivation to put in a seriously good block of work ahead of this season and we are seeing the results now.
“Travelling with a fitness trainer and a physio is all part of Jack’s approach now and he appears to be keeping on top of the physical issues that have held him back in the past.”
Vodafone, Official Connectivity Partner of Wimbledon, is working with Laura Robson to inspire the next generation of tennis players through Play Your Way To Wimbledon.