Davis Cup captain Leon Smith says the only way Jack Draper can beat Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday is to fight fire with fire.
The British No1 has relied heavily on his defensive skills, fitness and all-round grit in surviving three consecutive five-setters at this Australian Open. But Smith, who sits with Draper’s coach James Trottman in his courtside ‘pod’ insists that will not cut it against the No3 seed.
‘He’s got so much talent that he can make adaptations to his game and he’s going to have to in the next match,’ said Smith. ‘He’s going to have to get after the ball, be very, very positive, be very brave in the points, because you’re not going to out-rally so much Carlos.’
The impetus to keep the point short is compounded by the fact that Draper already has 12 and a half hours of tennis in his legs, compared to six for Alcaraz.
Draper was not helped by the schedulers, who have placed the match on Rod Laver Arena not before 3.30pm (4.30am UK time). He would have preferred a night match to give him more time to recover and avoid the heat of the day – it will peak at 34oC in the afternoon.
One advantage Draper will have is that he knows what it’s like to beat the Spaniard, having taken him down at Queen’s Club last year. Their only other completed match was a close three-setter in Switzerland in 2022.
Leon Smith says the only way Jack Draper can beat Carlos Alcaraz is to fight fire with fire
Draper has relied heavily on his defensive skills, fitness and all-round grit in Australia so far
The British No1 faces Alcaraz (pictured) at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday (4.30am UK time)
‘I was actually with Jack when he played Carlos for the first time in Basel,’ said Smith. ‘It was 7-5 in the third. Jack’s different now, but you have to learn from those matches, what worked well, what didn’t work so well.
‘The main focus is going to be on Jack executing serve plus one (the first shot after the serve). He has got to take care of his service games, be brave on some of Carlos’s second serves and be very, very offensive.
‘There’s moments that you’re going to have to suffer and defend which Jack’s prepared to do, but it’s the other side that he’s going to have to do extremely well.’
Smith has been impressed with Draper’s work so far this week – more on the mental and physical that the technical side.
‘He’s done incredibly well based on how his pre-season went (curtailed by a hip injury). He’ll know that he can do things better but he’s doing stuff that people would have questioned before – it’s a different kind of achievement.
‘It’s going to help him afterwards at the other Slams, knowing: “Those worries about my physical endurance? Don’t worry about that. Now I’m going to add layers to my game”.’
In seeking to describe his admiration for the way Draper came from behind twice to defy free-hitting Aussie opponents and the partisan crowd, Smith draws a comparison to his old friend Andy Murray.
‘His competitiveness is… it’s like sitting through some of those Andy matches, what we saw this week,’ said Smith. ‘It is reminiscent of that, the ebbs and flows and the drama that goes with it. When the chips are down, he comes out with something ridiculous. His heart’s massive.’
