Jack Draper’s coach Jamie Delgado has discussed the British star’s prospects of challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and winning a Grand Slam title.
British No 1 Draper reached his career-high ranking of world No 4 in June last year after an excellent first half of the season.
He was forced to end his campaign after the US Open due to a bone stress injury in his left arm and won his first match in over five months in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Norway earlier this month.
The 24-year-old made his ATP Tour comeback with a straight-sets victory against Quentin Halys in the first round of the Dubai Championships on Monday.
Draper, who won the 2025 Indian Wells Masters, has been identified as a player capable of threatening Alcaraz and Sinner — who have won the last nine Grand Slams between them.
In October, the Brit hired renowned coach Delgado, a former ATP player who previously worked with Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Delgado gave his verdict on whether Draper could be the player to break the Alcaraz-Sinner duopoly
“It could be Jack. Why not? That’s the way I’m thinking and seeing it. That’s the way he’s seeing it as well. You never know who it’s going to be but there’s no reason why it can’t be Jack,” Delgado said.
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“I think he’s shown enough, already, for people to rightfully think it might be him. He went on a path of winning a 250 event, then 500, he won a Masters series, he’s been in a semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
“He has had wins over Carlos. I think the mentality side of it is important that he has had those results to give him confidence to maybe beat these guys in the biggest of matches.”
On how long Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominance could last, Delgado said: “They’re obviously super young and you think it’s going to go on for a while, but it’s difficult.
“I know they make it look very easy to be there and win these tournaments, but it does take a lot out of you and if you only drop five per cent, your mindset, your hunger, that edge that makes you win these tournaments, you could lose a few matches.
“Even in the last year or so, Grigor could have beaten him (Sinner) at Wimbledon and he struggled against Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open.
“There are matches he can lose, but for someone like Jack, he’s going to have to play very well, improve, and it could be nice if they dropped their level a little bit.”
Delgado also addressed whether Draper can win a Grand Slam title.
“I’ve always had that mindset with the players I’ve coached to try and achieve something that they haven’t before,” said the Brit.
“It’s not always easy when you’re working with top players, but a Slam is something he obviously hasn’t achieved yet. That is something that is possible.”
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