British number one Jack Draper joked that his body used to break down easily despite “looking a bit like a Ferrari”, but believes a decision to tune up means he is now more capable of going the distance in matches.
The 23-year-old came out on top of a gruelling encounter with Australian Alexei Popyrin at Queen’s on Wednesday, recovering from going a set down to win 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5) and progress to the quarter-finals.
Draper is ranked sixth in the world and seen as the great British hope in men’s tennis as Wimbledon approaches.
He has never progressed beyond the second round of his home Grand Slam but he said after his win against Popyrin that he has been working on his strength and fitness to help last the distance in difficult matches.
“I have felt better and better every Grand Slam I have played,” he said.
“Before I felt like my energy wasn’t that strong, and I felt like I looked like a bit of a Ferrari but I was a bit of a Toyota, like broke down quite easily.
“Now I’m starting to feel generally stronger and confident in myself.”
Draper said that a turning point for him came at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
There he won three five-set matches in a row to set up a fourth-round meeting with world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
However, Draper – whose pre-season was disrupted by a hip injury – retired while trailing 7-5 6-1.
Despite that, he feels going the distance in those three previous matches was a significant moment.
“I have always worked really hard off the court,” Draper said.
“I think it’s helped me play more consistently on the tour, and I think those matches at the start of the year in Australia really helped me to get over that hurdle.”
