Former
British No. 1
Tim Henman has discussed
Jack Draper’s chances of winning a Grand
Slam in 2025 and challenging the dominance of
Jannik Sinner and
Carlos Alcaraz.
The World No. 15 made significant progress in 2024 and hopes to go further in
majors this year.
After
injuries disrupted his consistency, the 22-year-old had an impressive season,
winning titles at the Stuttgart Open and the ATP 500 Vienna Open. He also
finished as runner-up at the Adelaide International and achieved his best Grand
Slam result by reaching the US Open semifinals.
Draper’s Grand Slam potential backed by Henman
Draper
climbed to a career-high year-end ranking of World No. 15. As a peer of Alcaraz
(21) and Sinner (23), comparisons arise, especially after Draper’s strong
season, which included four wins against top-10 players. Notably, he defeated
Alcaraz at the Queen’s Club Championships, ending the Spaniard’s 13-match
winning streak on grass.
In a recent
interview with Sky Sports, former World No. 4 Tim Henman commented on Draper’s
prospects of securing a Grand Slam title in 2025: “Look, one step at a time.
He’s 15 in the world. I think the next obvious barrier is the top 10,” Henman
said.
“Those guys
are ahead of everyone, having won all four majors last year – two each for
Alcaraz and Sinner – but Jack wants to put himself in that equation. To do so,
he has to play consistently in big tournaments, and when he gets opportunities
against them, it will give us a better measure of where his game stands.”
Draper’s
last Grand Slam appearance was at the US Open, where he reached the semifinals.
It marked only his second time advancing to the second week of a major and the
first time surpassing the fourth round. He eventually lost in straight sets to
the eventual champion, Jannik Sinner.
With the
Australian Open as his next major challenge, Draper will aim to improve on his
previous Melbourne results, where he exited in the first round in 2023 and the
second round in 2024. Before the Australian Open, he is scheduled to play just
one tournament: the United Cup, where he will team up with Katie Boulter to
represent the United Kingdom.