Draper has had many bodily issues in his first few years on tour. He didn’t play for 2 and a half months due to a shoulder damage in the summertime of 2023 and a hip difficulty final December affected his preparations for this season.
He places an enormous quantity of power by his physique – together with his serve and forehand as his two greatest property – and admits there could possibly be advantages in “reining in” his serve
“It is shocked me a bit of bit that even after I do serve full out, my service numbers and my aces aren’t the place I would like them to be – and I feel typically virtually reining it in will not be a nasty factor,” he advised BBC Sport after his first-round win on the US Open.
“You see the highest servers ever to play – somebody like a Novak Djokovic has such an underrated serve, and he hits his spots extremely nicely. He isn’t banging it at 140 [miles per hour].
“They’re utilizing their slices, the spins, totally different variations – so I feel there may be undoubtedly one thing to be mentioned in that. It isn’t all about how briskly you hit your service, it is about how efficient it’s.”
Draper additionally acknowledged in New York that an damage like this will probably be very critical. By sitting out the remainder of the season, he could have not less than 4 months with out a match.
