Short turnarounds ‘becoming normal’ for Draper

Playing a final in Spain on a Sunday, flying home to see his family and dog and then practising in Italy on a Wednesday points to the type of whirlwind schedule that could become the new normal for Jack Draper.

This is the price of success on the ATP Tour, which the British number one is getting accustomed to.

After playing in the Madrid Open final, Draper was practising at the Italian Open in Rome three days later – although the reasonably close proximity to home meant he still squeezed in a flying visit to spend time with his grandparents, mother Nicky and dog Ozzie.

The new world number five – who became the Indian Wells champion in March and finished runner-up to Casper Ruud in Madrid – was not home for long.

He had a practice session with Russia’s Andrey Rublev to get to, as he builds up to his opening match in the Foro Italico on Friday.

“It’s becoming normal now for me,” Draper told BBC Sport, shortly after arriving on site for the first time.

“These events, they are tough, they are gruelling, they are long. But that’s tennis, it is relentless and I feel like mentally I’m adapting to that and I feel good.

Success brings vast rewards, but also challenges.

Towards the end of last year, Draper spoke openly about the difficulties of short turnarounds and the “mental” calendar for the top players.

He made those comments while representing his nation in the Davis Cup in Manchester just a week after he played in the US Open semi-finals in New York.

In Madrid, Draper played four matches in four days to reach the final and is now hoping to make an impact on the Italian clay – another ATP Masters tournament which forms a key part of the French Open build-up.

Extending the Madrid and Rome tournaments to 12 days has brought criticism, although it is cases like these – allowing players reaching the weekend more recovery time – which were cited as a key reason behind the move.

After Indian Wells, however, the 23-year-old Englishman lost his first match in Miami, which was played six days after he had won his first Masters 1,000 title.

Draper feels confident he can thrive on the clay courts of Rome and Roland Garros, where conditions are slower than in Madrid.

“Let’s see, let’s see,” he said.

“I’m confident that I’m playing some really good tennis, on any surface, any conditions, and I think that if I do all the right things I’m going to be a tough guy to beat.

“After Monte Carlo I was hoping for a bit of a clay breakthrough, because I know what I’m bringing in practice, but there I really struggled and so going into Madrid I was a bit apprehensive.