Jack Draper earns milestone title and possible Wimbledon seeding as he goes +10 in ATP Rankings
Jack Draper celebrates
It was a case of third time lucky for Jack Draper as he secured his maiden ATP Tour singles title with a three-set win over Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final.
Just days after becoming the new British No 1 following Cameron Norrie’s early exit from the Nottingham Open, Draper secured another landmark moment in the final of the ATP 250 event as he won his first title.
The 22-year-old finished runner-up in his two previous finals at the 2023 Sofia Open as well as the Adelaide International at the beginning of 2024.
And it initially looked like he would again have to settle for the runners-up trophy in Germany as he lost the opening set against Berrettini and also found himself behind in the second-set tie-breaker.
However, he bounced back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
“It is incredible. Thanks for all the support. It was a really tough match and I am really happy to win my first title. It means so much,” Draper said after the match.
“There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of tough moments. It is a testament to the work I have been doing.”
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Rankings Rise
Draper started the Stuttgart event at No 40 in the ATP Rankings and his big breakthrough moment came in the quarter-final when he upset defending champion Frances Tiafoe in three sets and earned him a new career-high as he was assured of moving past his previous best of 35.
That was followed by a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brandon Nakashima and on Sunday he went the distance against Berrettini and his reward – besides the trophy, a winner’s motorbike and a cheque – will be a possible 10-place jump in the rankings.
Having started the year at No 61 following his injury woes in 2023, he is now projected to climb to No 30 in the rankings after earning 240 points.
That ranking would be good enough for a seeding at Wimbledon, but the seedings will be based on the ATP Rankings on June 24 so there is still a lot of work to do.
However, there is good news for the rising star as he doesn’t have any points to defend between now and the US Open as he missed the grass-court season last year due to injury.
Besides becoming the new British No 1, a career-high ranking and a maiden ATP Tour singles title, Draper has also earned a spot on Great Britain’s squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.