Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro believes Jack Draper can compete with the best, including Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but says the British player needs “confidence in his body” to fulfil that potential.
Draper has long been touted as a future Grand Slam contender, but Del Potro says the real challenge is consistency, fitness and coping with big-stage expectations. Del Potro, who battled wrist and knee problems during his own career before retiring in 2022, warned that the body can be the hardest obstacle for a talented player.
Draper, 24, has had a stop-start season through injury. He returned to competition in February after nearly six months out with a bone stress injury in his left arm and produced a standout win over Novak Djokovic as he advanced to the quarter-finals while defending his Indian Wells title. He then lost in straight sets to Reilly Opelka at Miami and missed Monte-Carlo. At the Barcelona Open he was forced to retire in the deciding set against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and he vowed on social media to work his way back.
A former world No 4 and currently ranked 28th, Draper also battled anxiety and bouts of sickness on court and has had hip, knee and arm issues. Despite that, last year he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final on clay in Madrid, losing to Casper Ruud in three sets — proof, Del Potro says, that he has the game for the red dirt.
“Well, as a lefty player, he has an advantage over the rest of the players,” Del Potro said. “Draper is a talented player as well, but sometimes the body could be the worst thing in your career, as has happened with me, but he’s trying to get confidence in his body. He has the tennis to play well, but sometimes you need your body to respond to the highest intensity of the matches and tournaments every week, but I think British tennis is in good hands.”
Reflecting on his own career, Del Potro called injuries “the worst part” of his time on tour. He stressed the importance of building a complete support team — not just a tennis coach, but a physical trainer, physio and mental coach — so a player can recover and return more quickly when setbacks come.
Brits to watch in Madrid include British No 1 Cam Norrie, who has posted solid results this year including an Indian Wells quarter-final and the third round at the Australian Open. Emma Raducanu is scheduled to return from illness at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, her first match since Indian Wells, and Katie Boulter joins the main draw after Sonay Kartal withdrew through injury.
The Madrid Open runs over two weeks, with main-draw action beginning Tuesday April 21. The women’s final is on Saturday May 2 and the men’s final on Sunday May 3. Day sessions start at 9am and night sessions at 5.30pm. For the first time this year, a clay court will be installed at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu from April 23-30 to give players a practice surface that replicates conditions at La Caja Mágica.