Jack Draper crowned Indian Wells Masters 1000 champion

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz stepped forward as the new kings of the ATP Tour as they shared the four Grand Slam titles between them in 2024, but now they could have a new rival to contend with in Draper.

Draper's first ATP Masters 1000 title did not come as many do for rising stars of the game, as he was dominant in most of his wins and the names he beat in Indian Wells suggest he has arrived at the top of the game.

Young gun Joao Fonseca was no match for Draper and Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton went the same way as they were well beaten by the Brit.

Alcaraz then had no answer to Draper in the semi-finals, with Holger Rune also looking beaten long before the final point was played in the final.

The 6-2, 6-2 scoreline highlighted Draper's dominance, with his power-packed serve and loaded topspin forehand too much for Rune to handle in a one-sided final.

This win will fire Draper up to No. 7 in the ATP Rankings and with two wins against Alcaraz already on his record, the current top two in the rankings will be looking at this young gun as a rival to be wary of.

Alacarz's comments that he was 'nervous all day' prior to his semi-final against Draper suggested the Brit is not an opponent he relishes playing against and now the Brit has confirmed he can handle the pressure of the big occasion as he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in thrilling fashion.

"It is an incredible feeling," Draper told Sky Sports. "I wasn't expecting this. I put in a lot of work over time. I'm just so grateful and happy to be out here to play with my body feeling healthy and feeling great in my mind.

"All the work I've done over the last few years, it feels like it's all coming together on the big stage. I cannot put that into words.

"I have put in a lot of work over time and I'm so grateful to be out here, with my body healthy and feeling great in the mind.

"It feels like it is all coming together on the big stage I feel like I deserve it. The amount of adversity, the sacrifices, the time people around me have put into me.

"It's an emotional feeling to know how much you've gone through to be here now. To say I'm going to seventh in the world tomorrow. I cannot tell you how much that means to me.

"I had a few ups and downs and some low energy in the match against Carlos [Alcaraz]. I learned from that. I knew Holger would come out and play so good tennis so I needed to be aggressive and play to win from the first ball.

"I did an amazing job at that, didn't allow him to play, and dictated the match really well."

Draper's calm assurance in his post-match interviews suggests his maturity will now allow him to compete for all the big titles in the sport moving forward.

When you win a title as prestigious as Indian Wells in the convincing manner Draper just did, it sends a huge message to everyone else in the men's locker room⦠including Sinner and Alcaraz.

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