- Jack Draper was forced to retire in his fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz
- The Brit was down by two sets but could not continue due to pain in his hip
- He admitted that he may have to manage the injury for the rest of his career
Jack Draper fears his troublesome hip may be something he will have to manage for the rest of his career.
The British No1 came into the Australian Open carrying some pain from pre-season and somehow battled through three five-set matches in row. But after struggling through two sets of his fourth-round clash against Carlos Alcaraz, Draper retired from the match.
‘I didn’t pull up amazingly well,’ said a despondent Draper. ‘I was really, really sore after I played my last match. I’m managing this hip thing… I wasn’t expecting to come this far in all honesty. With all the hours I have played, it’s been a bit too much on my body.
‘Today, from the first couple of games I felt everything getting worse. Not ideal to end this way.’
We first became aware of Draper’s hip issue in December when he withdrew from a planned training camp with Alcaraz in Alicante. He then pulled out of the season-opening United Cup. Having been understandably vague about the issue while in competition, Draper opened up on his struggles.
‘Essentially I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get looked at with an MRI,’ he said. ‘I have had a history of problems in that area. It hasn’t gone away. I’m still dealing with that.
23-year-old Jack Draper has admitted that his hip issues could last for the rest of his career
He was forced to retire from his fourth-round Australian Open match against Carlos Alcaraz
The injury was reported in December but Draper has dealt with it behind closed doors for years
‘In the pre-season, it came back and I couldn’t walk. It was really difficult. I have come here and I have been managing that.
‘I have been unbelievably surprised with how much I have been able to play and put my body through, more than I have ever done before.
‘It’s just massive overload. This area of my body, if I don’t get that right and I don’t make good decisions… I don’t want to miss three or four months.’
Draper was generally fairly sanguine but did admit to a worry that he will never be completely free of issues in the area.
‘That’s just the sport,’ he said. ‘Everyone’s got their own areas where they struggle more than others, and that’s my area that I’m going to have to look after and manage for probably the rest of my career.
‘I’ll just manage it the best I can, and hopefully get on a run where I’m not playing with pain and taking painkillers.’
How many painkillers is he taking? ‘All the time,’ he said. ‘A lot. Yeah, a lot.’
Taking this into account, Draper’s efforts in thrice coming back from two sets to one down to win have been barely believable.
He revealed he manages the issue with ‘a lot’ of painkillers but it still hinders his performance
‘Considering everything I’m incredibly proud of my efforts,’ he said.
‘My tennis has been pretty bang-average. It’s been really poor, actually, but it’s been my competitiveness, my fight, and my desire to win. That’s got me into the last 16 of a Grand Slam, which is something I’m very proud of.’
