New British number one Jack Draper reached his first grass-court final on the ATP Tour by defeating American Brandon Nakashima in Stuttgart.
Draper overcame a decisive set on Friday against another American, Frances Tiafoe, and continued her dominant streak in Germany by defeating Nakashima 6-3, 6-3.
The 22-year-old is a career-high 32nd in the world in the live rankings and is peaking at the right time as he chases a first grass-court title as well as a spot in Wimbledon.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Draper said on the court.
‘I will do my best (in the final). Everyone here is an incredible player, so if I go out and play like I have, I’ll have a good chance (to win).’
Jack Draper will play for his first grass-court title on the ATP Tour on Sunday in Stuttgart
The newly crowned British number one easily overcame Brandon Nakashima, defeating him 6-3, 6-3.
Draper arrived in Germany as the sixth seed of the tournament, but entered in disappointing form having had a difficult clay court tour with three consecutive defeats.
The Briton, who will face Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti in Sunday’s final, left and focused on being more aggressive in his bid to win his first ATP Tour title.
He previously reached the semi-finals on two previous occasions, losing to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino at the Sofia Open in November 2023 and to Czech Jiri Lehecka at the Adelaide International in January.
“James Trotman, my current coach and I, had been working together for a long time and felt we needed another voice to come in and talk about some things,” Draper told Mail Sport on Friday.
‘(Wayne Ferreira) was always trying to make me be more aggressive, but I don’t think I got to that point, to realizing that I needed to change.
“After the first clay court events, where I had opportunities in all the matches I lost, I realized that I was trying to make them fail and these best players don’t fail, especially in those big moments.
“I think we see it with (Carlos) Alcaraz in the French Open final, you have to go out at this level with the way men’s tennis is changing, to win the match and you have to win on your own terms. Yes You don’t, these guys will beat you. So I had to really look at myself and think ‘how am I going to change?’
Particularly this week in Stuttgart, Draper’s serve has been a crucial weapon, hitting 31 aces in the win over Tiafoe and 13 more in the straight-sets win over Nakashima.
Draper is peaking at just the right time and he owes it to a new, more aggressive approach to the game.
It was one of the areas where specific improvement was sought after a shoulder injury.
“Serve is a big factor in all of this, but also, you know, my return position, I’ve made tremendous progress on the court,” he said.
“I think if you watch any of my matches before the clay season, you’ll see me on my feet, you know, for a long time, even last year on grass and hard courts.
‘At the beginning of this year, I was always very far behind and that completely changed.
“Now I’m getting back on the court, so that has helped me a lot. And I’m just trying to get more forward, trying to use my presence and trying to play like a six-foot-four player, but with all the things added.
‘So I’m very, very happy with my way of thinking and how I’ve accepted change and embraced the people around me telling me that I need to change. And I hope it is an intention to publish it.”
And he added: “I can still win a lot of games playing as that defensive player; I have 35 years in the world playing that way.” I’m going to beat guys in the top 50 and great players, but if I want to be in the top 10 and, hopefully, compete for very, very important titles, I’m aware that people like Alcaraz take it to a different speed.
‘They are not going to defeat themselves. You have to have the game to beat them.”
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