Jack Draper caps spectacular week by winning BNP Paribas Open
It almost doesn't feel real what Jack Draper accomplished this week at Indian Wells.
Having never even appeared in a Masters 1000 final, the rising tennis star from Great Britain made one of the most impressive runs through the draw at the BNP Paribas Open, and on Sunday capped it with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 win in the final over Denmark's Holger Rune.
After the win, Draper fell to his knees and raised his hands to the sky. He later said that it was the culmination of years of hard work.
On Monday, Draper will make his top 10 debut and at 23 years and two months he’ll become the second-youngest player from Great Britain, after Andy Murray, to break inside the top 10 in PIF ATP Rankings history. He'll be ranked No. 7 in the world.
Murray was a month shy of his 20th birthday when, in April 2007, he reached the top 10.
"Definitely a big moment for me, getting inside the top 10, and also to win my first Masters title," Draper said. "Just adds to my inner belief and my confidence."
A rising star 🌟@jackdraper0 | #TennisParadisepic.twitter.com/zhoZFG8CX9
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2025
This was only Draper's third appearance at Indian Wells. Last year, he lost his first match. He said Sunday that he didn't feel well, mentally, with his game last year and that his serve was struggling.
It felt like a 180 degree turn a year later.
"Feels incredible to win here," Draper said. "I have been watching this tournament since I was a young guy, watching all the champions play on this big court. It means the world to me, honestly, to be able to be a champion here."
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Draper's breakthrough came during a historic two weeks for the BNP Paribas Open. The tournament set a new attendance record for the event, with 504,268 spectators visiting the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Draper beat a staggering list of high-level players to even reach the BNP Paribas Open final. He beat Brazilian rising star João Fonseca in his first match, before beating American Jenson Brooksby next. He then beat two of the top three Americans, third-seeded Taylor Fritz and 11th-seeded Ben Shelton.
In the semifinals on Saturday, he managed to break Carlos Alcaraz’s 16-match win streak at this event, denying Alcaraz a chance at his third consecutive title at this event.
On Sunday, Draper immediately went up a break in the first game of the match, held serve and then went up a double break to take a quick 3-0 lead in the first set.
Draper was really going to it, increasing the speed on his forehand to 83 mph in the early set.
Draper managed to hold his serve through the set, while converting on 3-of-5 break point opportunities. He recorded seven aces and did not face a single break point while closing the first set in 30 minutes.
Then, in the second set, it was more of the same. He immediately went up a break while dictating the play and controlling the match from the middle of the court. He continued to ride the wave of confidence that had surely swelled this week at Indian Wells.
Using his unique left slider serve, Draper did not face a single break point in the second set and cruised to a victory that felt dominant.
"Jack played an amazing tournament," Rune said, "and he deserved to win today. He was serving amazing, for sure. But I think I could have done my part better. The opportunities I had to play aggressive just weren't good enough."
The match, with lasted just 69 minutes, was the fastest men's singles finals at Indian Wells in at least a decade. It was faster than the 77-minute final in 2016, which was the previous fastest in recent years at this event.
Rune won the only previous match between the two, 6-4, 6-2, last year at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
The final was the first between players aged 23-and-under at Indian Wells since a 22-year-old Rafael Nadal defeated a 21-year-old Andy Murray in the 2009 final, and the first at a Masters 1000 level event since Tsitsipas, at 23, defeated 22-year-old Davidovich Fokina at 2022 Monte Carlo.
Since last October, top-ranked Jannik Sinner has the most wins on the ATP Tour, with 21. Draper is right behind, with 20 tour wins.
Still, it's a bit unbelievable that Draper would beat the two players in Alcaraz and Fritz who won the last three Indian Wells titles en route to winning his own.
Maybe this is the start of something special for the Brit.
"You train every day," Draper said. "You put in all the sacrifice, all the work, the team around you, my family. I have put in years and years and years of working.
"When I kneeled down there, I just tried to look around and just take it all in and just experience the intense feeling of being the winner here and the success that I worked so hard for."
[This story has been updated to add new information.]
Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Jack Draper has no trouble with Holger Rune in Indian Wells final
