"The reason why I was moved is that, among all the difficulties, you risk forgetting who you are on the court. And last week I felt I couldn't give more. I cried because I didn't recognize the player I was on the pitch, because of injuries and probably also because of how I've been feeling for a long time."
La carrière de Jack Draper traverse une période délicate. Régulièrement gêné par des problèmes physiques, le Britannique est contraint de limiter son temps passé sur les courts. Après avoir effectué son retour à Eastbourne, il a de nouveau dû s’arrêter avant Wimbledon, puis patienter jusqu’à Montréal pour reprendre officiellement la compétition sur le circuit ATP. Mais son élimination dès son entrée en lice face à Atmane a déjà mis fin à son tournoi.
Draper veut rebondir
L’Anglais se trouve désormais au départ de l’Open de Cincinnati, avec l’ambition de faire mieux. Dans un entretien accordé à The Guardian, le joueur de 24 ans a tenté de mettre des mots sur ce qu’il a ressenti après son passage au Canada :
"Last week my emotion came from a situation where, I think, I had too many things to focus on and manage. Too many changes going on in my tennis. I got to number 4 in the world doing the same things, with constant work, and then I went through this whole process made up of many setbacks and many difficulties. All this drained my energy. I find myself in the position of having to start over. Sometimes, this reality is difficult to accept."
Le Britannique entend toutefois tirer les leçons de cette période particulièrement éprouvante :
"When you hit rock bottom like that, you can always move back up. Since then I have trained a lot, I have received amazing support from the people around me. Now we have reached that stage of accepting the situation. After this long period, my pace of play has moved away from the best performances. I'm changing the strings. I wouldn't want to do it, but it's necessary due to the nature of my injury. The same goes for the racket," he explained.
Draper sait qu’il lui faudra composer avec cette réalité, malgré son tempérament de compétiteur :
"It's a difficult situation because I'm a winner. I want to give my best, but I have to accept reality. I have to find a solution in these very difficult circumstances. If this allows me to get to the end of the year feeling in great shape again, with body and mind at the top, then it can only help me to completely overcome this injury," concluded Draper.