Jack Draper disappointed with loss over Carlos Alcaraz, says he wants to be ‘right up there’

Jack Draper’s run at the Italian Open ended when he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets at the quarterfinals. 

The current No. 5 player in the ATP ranking made it clear that he was not content with reaching the final eight and would want to move further in the tournament. However, speaking after his loss, Draper expressed his disappointment. 

“I obviously lost to a great player today. I’m very disappointed with the way I performed, in a way… I think from a mental and emotional point of view, you could say that’s normal, you had a tough four weeks now,” the athlete said. 

He added, “I don’t want to be normal. I want to be right up there. It hurts a lot, this kind of loss. But Carlos played a really good match, and he was the better player. I have to accept that, go back to the drawing board and really prepare well for the French Open, [knowing] that I’m hopefully going to have many more chances against these great players.”

Draper’s performance this season 

Jack Draper can look back on an impressive start to this year’s season. The 23-year-old has made it to the Top 5 for the first time in his career, and he sits in second place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of the moment. 

Furthermore, Draper has made impressive plays on clay, highlighted by his first-ever ATP Masters 1000 final in the Madrid Open, where he finished as runner-up after losing to Casper Ruud.

Draper was hoping to secure his second win of the 2025 season over Carlos Alcaraz at the Italian Open. He previously defeated the Spaniard to claim his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells. However, Alcaraz controlled the match and won the game. 

In a social media post, Alcaraz shared photos from the match with the caption “SEMIS! 🫶🏻❤️”

Netizens praised Alcaraz’s performance, calling him a “warrior” and applauding his mental strength, joy on court, and impressive tennis.

One comment read: “So impressed by your mental strength and incredible tennis. And—as always—by the joy you bring to a match. What a warrior gladiator you are! Vamos! 🔥👏🙌❤️ 💪”

With his performances, Draper still declared, “I’ve been playing some really good stuff… I’m really proud of the way I’ve approached the clay season, especially so far. Obviously good results. Hard to keep on going. But I know that if I want to be a top, top player, I have to be consistent week in, week out.” 

I’m looking forward to going to Roland Garros because I haven’t been able to play very good tennis there in the past. This time, hopefully, it’s a good opportunity for me to go and really put my game on the court and carry on with the momentum where I left off. Definitely after today, I’ll be very hungry to want to show some really good stuff there.”