Jack Draper Only Wanted to Learn from Rafael Nadal

This time of year is reserved for strawberries and a lot of Wimbledon news. The tournament starts tomorrow and, of course, without Rafael Nadal it won’t be the same. But our champ is still on the minds of many fans, despite his retirement. Players and coaches are also mentioning him.

Current British No. 1, Jack Draper, once questioned why his coach wasn’t showing him footage of Rafa when he was still developing as a youngster. Here’s what his former coach, Justin Sherring, had to say about it.

Rafael Nadal, right, speaks to Jack Draper following his victory over the British player in the first round of the Australian Open. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA
Rafael Nadal, right, speaks to Jack Draper following his victory over the British player in the first round of the Australian Open. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

Trying to inspire a young Draper, Sherring picked footage of Jurgen Melzer—a lefty with a strong backhand—to study:

“I chose a video of Jurgen Melzer, a top-10 player. Like Jack, he was a lefty and had a great backhand, exactly what we wanted to copy. I stick the video in front of Jack and I say, ‘Look at the extension of the arms,’ but Jack has got this look on his face.”

When Jack asked who he was watching, Sherring replied:

“It’s Jurgen Melzer, mate, top 10.”

But Jack wasn’t buying it:

“Why have you brought me Jurgen Melzer?”

Even after Sherring explained the technical reasons, Jack delivered the line every Rafa fan would love:

“Yeah, I get that. But why aren’t you showing me Rafael Nadal?”

Sherring’s brilliant (and slightly defeated) comeback?

“I’m sorry to have offended you with a top-10 player. What was I thinking?”

The story wrapped up with a classic Rafa-inspired ending:

“The next day I bring him in a video of Nadal, the best lefty of all time, and Jack is just giggling at me and goes, ‘That’s more like it, Justin.’

“This kid, I love him. He’s the nicest guy in the world and also a savage. He always knew what he wanted.”

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