British No.1 Jack Draper made an admission after Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev beat him 7-5 5-7 6-1 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
Draper, world No.16, went into the clash against Russia’s world No.10 Rublev as a slight underdog, looking to land his third-ever ATP Tour title.
The 23-year-old, who has been tipped as the next Andy Murray, clinched his first two ATP Tour trophies last year in Stuttgart and Vienna.
Draper battled hard in Qatar – but came up short in the end – admitting after the match that Rublev was simply ‘too good’ during their tense showdown.
‘It’s been an amazing week,’ Draper said, with the 2024 US Open semi-finalist set to move up to a career-high world No.12 spot on Monday.
‘Andrey was too good today. We played some tough matches this week and in the third set he was just a bit too strong for me.
‘I’m really proud of my efforts this week. Every day, I wake up and try to improve, so it’s a testament to my hard work, I suppose.’
Rublev had kind words for Draper following their close-fought final, with the Russian star winning the title in Doha for the second time in his career.
‘It feels great,’ Rublev, who made headlines in 2022 for writing an anti-war message on an ATP Tour camera, said after his triumph over Draper.
‘It was a lot of tough battles. It feels great I was able to go through and somehow win them.
‘Bad luck and amazing week Jack and his team. I really like Jack as a person and I really like his game.
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‘He has a really, really great career and future ahead. He will win many great things. Keep working man. You deserve everything.’
Draper has now reached a total of five finals on the ATP Tour and looks set for a huge future in tennis having already proven he is capable of playing in the latter stages of a Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows last year.
The Briton was seeded eighth in Doha and produced wins over Jiri Lehecka, Matteo Berrettini, Christopher O’Connell and Alexei Popyrin on his way to the final.
Draper will next be hoping to enjoy deep runs at the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments – two prestigious events which get underway in March.
