After his victory in Vienna, Jack Draper promises to compete with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz | Tennis news

Jack Draper has set his sights on challenging leading stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz after capturing the biggest title of his career by winning the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The 22-year-old celebrated his first ATP 500 crown after a thrilling 6-4 7-5 victory over world number 24 Karen Khachanov in Sunday’s final.

Draper, who won the Stuttgart Open – an ATP 250 event – in June – was playing in his second competition since losing to world No. 1 Sinner in the semi-finals of the US Open.

He plans to compete in the Paris Masters this week and, after a break in the tennis calendar, hopes to “shake up the boys at the top of the game” next season after an impressive breakout campaign.

“I’m very happy with the way I’ve progressed this year,” said Draper, whose performance in the Austrian capital guaranteed a top-15 position.

“I’ll focus on next week and then I’m looking forward to having some free time and probably not thinking about tennis.

“It’s been a long year and it’s taken a lot out of me.

“And then I’m going to renew it and go again next year with even greater motivation to really shake up those guys at the top of the game, like Sinner and Alcaraz.

“If I can continue to improve physically and gain more and more experience at this higher level against top players, then I’m going to give myself a chance to hopefully compete with those guys.

“But there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Draper became the fourth British player to win the tournament, following in the footsteps of Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and two-time winner Andy Murray.

He looked on his way to victory after taking a 4-0 lead in the second set, but had to dig deep as Khachanov threatened a comeback by winning the next five games in a row.

The seventh seed regained his composure at a crucial moment to clinch the trophy within an hour and 35 minutes.

“It feels incredible, it’s been such a great week for me,” Draper said.

“I played fantastic tennis and I keep improving, that’s the most important thing.

“It’s been a long year for me with a lot of ups and downs. I knew that if I continued to work consistently well with the team, I would continue to achieve great results.”

If I can continue to improve physically and gain more and more experience at this higher level against top players, then I’m going to give myself a chance to hopefully compete with those guys.

Draper’s progress was hampered by physical problems prior to this season.

He had managed to remain injury-free before retiring from the ATP Tour event in Tokyo last month after suffering an abdominal problem that also forced him to miss the Shanghai Masters.

“I knew I came here and was in good shape, but I wasn’t too sure what my body was like,” Draper said.

“The nature of tennis is brutal because (last year) I was 40 in the world and I got injured for a few months and my ranking completely dropped.

“I was playing Challengers again and I felt angry, I wasn’t happy with where I was. I was working hard but it just wasn’t clicking for me.

“I knew that if I could get my mind and body in a good place, my tennis would be good enough to play against these best players in the world and by achieving these kinds of results, I now have this inner belief.”

How many hours of live tennis?

From 4am October 28 to 4am October 31, you can watch LIVE TENNIS back-to-back, with a total of 84 hours of non-stop action on Sky Sports Tennis.

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?

• Hong Kong Tennis Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
• Jiangxi Open – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
• Merida Open Akron – WTA 250 (October 28 – November 3)
• Rolex Paris Masters – ATP 1000 (28 October – 3 November – Draper in action)
• WTA Final Riyadh – (November 2-9)
• Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
• Moselle Open, Metz – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
• Nitto ATP Finals, Turin – (November 10-17)

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to more than 50 percent more live sport at no extra cost this year. Read more here.