ATP Indian Wells Masters: Draper becomes a new member of the top 10 by winning the Masters for the first time

On March 17, Beijing time, ATP1000 Indian Wells Station ushered in the champion of the New Masters. In the first post-00 Masters final in history, 13th seed Draper defeated Denmark's Rune 6-2, 6-2 in just 69 minutes in the final to win the Masters for the first time in his career. This is Draper's third Tour title, having won titles in three categories in the past year: Stuttgart (ATP 250), Vienna (ATP 500) and Indian Wells (ATP1000).

"It was just amazing, I didn't expect it at all." Draper said after the game, "I've put in a lot of effort over the last long time. I am very grateful and happy to be able to stand on this stage with a healthy attitude and full spirit. I feel like I've been putting in the hard work I've put into the last few years and I'm finally seeing a payoff in the big game, and I can't put it into words. ”

Draper

On his way to the title, the 23-year-old Briton defeated the four seeds of Alcaraz, Fritz, Shelton and Rune to reach the top, and the world ranking broke the top 10 mark for the first time this week, setting a new personal high of No.7, becoming the fifth British player to enter the ATP top 10 since the ranking system was introduced in 1973 (Rusedsky, Henman, Murray, Norrie).

Speaking about his first top 10 finish, Draper said: "Honestly, I think I deserve to be [in the top 10] given the adversity I've overcome, the sacrifices I've made, and the time and effort that people around me have put into me. I know what I've been through, and now that I'm here to say I'm number seven in the world, it's a mixed bag, and I can't tell you how important it all is to me. ”

Draper's road to victory

First round bye

Second round: 6-4/6-0 Fonseca

Third round: 7-5/6-4 Brooksby

Fourth round: 7-5, 6-4 Fritz[3]

1/4 Finals: 6-4, 7-5 Sheldon[11]

Semi-finals: Alcaraz 6-1/0-6/6-4[2]

Final: Rune 6-2, 6-2[12]

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)