Jack Draper wins Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final title in London
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Britain’s Jack Draper was crowned champion at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final at the Excel London after defeating former world No.4 Holger Rune in Sunday’s final.
The British star finished the weekend unbeaten, having topped Group B with wins against Gael Monfils, Alexander Bublik and Rune, before going on to clinch a 3-0 victory over Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.
The UTS uses different rules to the traditional tennis tours, with players competing to win as many points as possible in four eight-minute quarters to make matches faster and exciting for fans.
In the final, Draper overturned a one quarter deficit to beat ‘The Viking’ 3-1 (12-14, 15-12, 13-10, 19-7).
“To finish this strong and play some great tennis in my home country, in my home city is amazing,” said Jack ‘The Power’ Draper after the biggest prize win of his career to date.
“I think it’s been a really weird format, really fun to play and obviously playing against the best players in the world and getting wins in those matches feels amazing.
“It’s an individual sport but it is a team sport because there’s so many people helping me on a day-to-day basis, working on my body, working on my tennis and so that money goes a long way into investing in my tennis.”
Draper showed last week that he’s ready to compete with the players at the top of the game more regularly now and going into 2024, he’ll have his sights on joining the likes of Rune at the top of the rankings.
Speaking to Tennis Majors last month, Draper made it clear that improving his ranking is a key goal for the new season.
“I do have the target that I want to be in the top 20 by the end of the year,” he said. “That’s the goal. Other than that, it’s about working hard, staying fit and getting to more finals.”
