Tim Henman lent his support to Jack Draper after a controversial Indian Wells exit and said the now British No 2 was “definitely on the way back” following a lengthy injury.
Draper losing ranking points always seemed likely given his victory here last season and his relative short return from an arm injury but he would have still been disappointed with the manner of his exit which came via a controversial hindrance call.
Reflecting on the exit, Henman said there was plenty to be positive about even if he lost the British No 1 spot to Cam Norrie.
“Emotionally and physically it was a quick turnaround from his win against Djokovic. Jack has not played a great deal of tennis. It’s only his second tournament back and his seventh match back and he’s had a great tournament.
“To get these three wins under his belt there’s so many things to be positive about and it looks like he’s held up physically from his troublesome arm, which has been the problem. He can hopefully build in Miami now.”
“He’s back playing on the tour but at the level where he was 12 months ago winning the title here – he’s still just got to keep building. Form is temporary, class is permanent. Jack is definitely on the way back!”
Draper did not dwell on the controversial call, stating at the net that he thought it was “fair” and then going on to say Daniil Medvedev was the deserved winner.
“First of all, Daniil was the stronger player fair and square,” Draper told BBC Sport. “It’s a difficult situation for the ref. I don’t think I did enough to hinder him, but at the end of the day I did make a slight thing with my hands.
MORE ON DRAPER ON T365
* Indian Wells Open: Watch as Daniil Medvedev and Jack Draper argue over hindrance call
* Jack Draper makes 11-word statement ahead of Miami Open after Indian Wells Open title defence
* ATP Rankings: Jack Draper set for big drop and here is why he faces an even bigger slide in coming months
“I think he’s played the rules quite well. The rally carried on and I was able to win the point so I don’t think I should have lost the point. I think it’s pretty harsh.
“If someone was to say that I was going to be here in the quarter-finals after what I’ve been through the last nine months – only myself, and my family and my team know how much it affected me – that was enough for me.
“Today I ran out of steam and I wasn’t able to compete again a day later with one of the best players in the world, and that’s just totally normal.”
There is little rest for Draper who now heads to Florida for the Miami Open.
Read next: Iga Swiatek breaks silence with candid message after ‘tough’ Indian Wells Open exit
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
The post Tim Henman declares Jack Draper ‘definitely on the way back’ despite Indian Wells exit appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply