Tennis fans – such as John Quarenghi, who has played competitive tennis since he was 12 years old – watched with anticipation as British teenager Jack Draper played defending champion Novak Djokovic on the opening day of Wimbledon in 2021. The 2021 competition at Wimbledon was Draper’s first ever grand slam match, with the 19-year-old selected to play the world’s best player for his grand slam debut.
Draper’s debut was set for day one of the world’s most famous tennis competition, and he was ‘shocked’ to be playing against the world number one. Ahead of the match, Djokovic noted that he was “taking [Draper] very seriously.”
Whilst Draper demonstrated great skill and talent in his match against the world number one, Djokovic beat the world number 253 in four sets: 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. After the match, Djokovic congratulated Draper for his performance, noting that he had “done extremely well. He carried himself very maturely on the court.”
Draper’s game was praised for his ability to pin Djokovic behind the baseline and for expertly moving him so that he slipped a number of times. Draper finished the first set with 11 winners, and was adept at handling the tight moments that occurred in the early stages of the game.
Who Is Jack Draper?
Jack Draper is a 19-year-old tennis player,
with a family history that shares very close links with the sport. Draper’s
mother was Britain’s best junior tennis player; his father was Chief Executive
of the Lawn Tennis Association; and his brother has just completed a four-year
tennis scholarship at the University of California.
Having attended the same school as Tim Henman,
Draper would also regularly practice with Andy Murray. A runner-up in the 2018
boys’ singles at the All England Club, Jack Draper impressed with his
performance at Queen’s Club, where he won against the Italian third seed Jannik
Sinner and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. However, he lost in the
quarter-finals to fellow Brit Cameron Norrie.
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