I'm one or two years behind Sinner and Alcaraz, says Draper
PARIS :Jack Draper is in his early 20s, just like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and his run to the U.S. Open semi-finals last year caught the eye, but the Briton feels he has a lot of catching up to do to compete at the dominant duo's level.
World number five Draper exited the French Open in the fourth round with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-4 defeat against Kazakh Alexander Bublik on Monday, missing out on a potential quarter-final clash with world number one Sinner.
"I'm incredibly disappointed with the result," the 23-year-old Draper told a press conference.
"You know, obviously I'm coming into the clay court season having barely won any matches on the clay before. I keep that in mind, obviously, but I felt good.
"I felt good coming into this tournament. I felt like my level was building. Then today, it's a really, really tough loss to take for me."
Draper has beaten French Open champion and world number two Alcaraz twice in six encounters and has a 1-1 win-loss record against Sinner but feels he does not belong in the same league.
"I still think I'm a long way behind those boys a little bit. I still have lots to learn," Draper said.
"If you look at how many matches they've played, they've probably played double the amount that I've played. They're probably a year, two years ahead of me.
"I do have a lot to do to catch up with them, in all honesty. My level is getting better all the time, but it's not just the tennis. It's the consistency.
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