Draper’s ATP top 10 breakthrough hinges on Alcaraz match

Jack Draper is on the cusp of breaking into the world’s top 10 at the Indian Wells Open, with the British star needing a victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday to secure his highest career ranking.

Draper currently sits 135 points outside the top 10 in the live rankings, but a win in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event would see him leapfrog Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alex de Minaur to move up to eighth place.

The challenge ahead is formidable, as Alcaraz enters the matchup as the +303 favorite with Nags.bet.

However, Draper has defied the odds before, having already taken down world No. 4 Taylor Fritz in straight sets earlier in the tournament despite being the underdog with the top online betting sites.

Despite the potential milestone, Draper insists he is not focusing on rankings and is taking things one match at a time.

“In all honesty, I don’t think about it at all,” he said after defeating Ben Shelton on Thursday.

“There are so many things I could think about, but obviously in tennis, it’s a sport where I just have to keep on going.

“It’s one tournament after the next. It’s a bit crazy, really. So I just literally don’t think.

“You know, I just end up practicing, eating, playing Monopoly Deal, getting ready for my match, competing as hard as I can.

“The result is the result, and then if I win, then great. If I don’t, then I get back to work the next day.

“I was thinking about those things when I was a kid, wanting to be in the top 10 in the world and wanting to play in later rounds of huge competitions like this one.

“I don’t really set goals because I feel like I’m living my dream by playing on these stages.”

Tennis sportsbooks currently have Draper listed at +600 to claim his first ATP Masters title this week, (+500), while Holger Rune rounds out the field at (+1000).

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