Jack Draper is keen to have a good and consistent year on tour, but the British No 1 has revealed he is taking “a lot” of painkillers to deal with tendinitis in his groin, which hampered his chances against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
Draper’s physical problems returned and he lasted just two sets of his fourth-round clash with four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.
Draper entered the tournament with little preparation following a thigh injury he suffered in pre-season, which he admitted he still had to manage.
He then put his body through three five-set matches, spending more than 12-and-a-half hours on court, and it proved too much.
“Basically I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get an MRI to see,” Draper said during his press conference. “I’ve had a history of problems in that area and it hasn’t gone away, I’m still dealing with it.
“Obviously in the preseason it (moved) on my back and I couldn’t walk and it was really hard. I’ve come here and I’ve done it. I’ve been extremely surprised with how well I’ve been able to play and put my body in, more than I ever did before, I think it’s just one of those things, just massive overload.
“This area of my body, if I don’t get it right and make good decisions, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of it.”
Draper was due to spend a week training with Alcaraz in Spain in December but was forced to cancel due to injury with the 23-year-old admitting the issue is a “ticking time bomb” which he is managing by taking painkillers.
“I’ll have to clean up the tendinitis,” he admitted. “It’s definitely doing rehab or maybe you can have an injection in that area to help it. I chose to do the rehab. But it’s definitely not cleared up much. Maybe I’ll see what I can do with that. It’s not at all a long term thing, I just have to be reasonable, because there is no escape.
“I’ve come here and played a ridiculous amount of tennis and I’m broken. The key to staying injury-free and being consistent is having that consistency in your body time where you’re injury-free, time to train, time to get your body right.
“If you’re dealing with injuries and you’re playing in pain and you’re on painkillers then it’s not ideal.
“I’m going to manage it as best as I can and hopefully go into a run where I’m taking care of it where I’m not playing through the pain and being fine, and not taking painkillers.”
Asked how much painkillers he was taking, Draper replied, “All the time. A lot. Yeah, a lot.”
Draper ‘proud’ of his efforts
Draper was not helped by the scheduling as he was forced to play in the full heat on the warmest day of the tournament.
He was under pressure from the start and quickly looked uncomfortable, but Alcaraz was erratic in the opening set and the Spaniard just cruised past him.
However, at the end of the second, Draper was barely able to follow up on the shots and Alcaraz was waiting for the handshake.
“All things considered, I’m extremely proud of my effort,” said Draper, who reached the US Open semifinals in September.
“My tennis has been pretty average. The whole week has been pretty poor, actually, but it’s been my competitiveness, my fight and my desire to win that has put me in the last 16 of a Grand Slam, which is something I am very proud”.
“It’s really frustrating and I never like to give up. I’m someone who likes to give it my all for everything, but I’m aware of the injuries, especially in the past, I just want to make the right decisions because I don’t” I want being able to play and being consistent, being consistent in my body and everything again.
Henman: One step too far for Draper
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Both Tim Henman and Laura Robson chose Draper as their Most Improved Player of the 2024 ATP Season
Tim Henman speaking at Eurosport regarding Draper’s retirement:
“It was nothing for the motivation. He fought so hard with three players with five players,” said the former British No.1.
“I don’t think it would have made a difference if Jack won the first set. I just don’t think he had enough energy in the tank to go toe-to-toe with Alcaraz.
“Throw into the equation that he had a groin issue in the offseason, it looked like he was struggling with that area and maybe his upper hamstring.
“I think to some degree, Draper’s hands were tied. He went out there and tried, but unfortunately it was just a step too far.”
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