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1 week Ago By Daniel Rodgers
They could’ve parked him in the entrance of an Abercrombie & Fitch and watched footfall spike, but having spent most of his life inside a tennis court – where the trajectory of a serve is arguably more important than that of a person’s jawline – Jack Draper barely considered the heartthrob potential of his six-foot-plus stature. (Not even when the prestigious IMG models signed the Sutton-native at 18 years old.) “I had just turned pro, and I didn’t really know what it was all about,” he says, now 23 years old and just as bemused.
“I mean, the photos I did back then, I didn’t realise they’d still be out there. I wasn’t thinking about the future. It was just cool to go into that world and have something on the side.
” The British number one is FaceTime-ing from Monaco, where he is about to play in the Monte-Carlo Masters, and just last week announced his ambassadorship with Burberry . It’s a role that will see Draper – who is also the face of Nike – sporting Daniel Lee ’s designs at “nice, smart” events away from the court. His first real assignment came a couple weeks ago, though, when he slipped into some chequered swimming trunks before launching himself off the side of a yacht (and into the Indian Ocean) for the brand’s Drew Vickers-shot summer campaign.
A bikini-clad Rosie Huntington-Whiteley accompanied him into the glittering expanse. “The water was extremely salty,” he says. “I couldn’t believe how salty the water was.
I also took a photo with a sort of ‘dog model’ a lady had brought onto the beach. It was nice to pet him because I miss mine when I’m away from home.” On the subject of his two-legged co-star, he adds: “Rosie’s a cool girl – and was definitely looking good in the Burberry stuff – so I’m sure we’ll stay in touch.
She was, yeah, a lot of fun to be around.” Draper sees clothing as a valuable extension of a sport that has, because of its historically conservative dress codes, often been a site for rebellion, and divergent modes of self-presentation. (See: Andre Agassi with his mullet, jeans shorts and neon in the 1980s, which saw him boycott Wimbledon for three years, and Serena Williams , whose total breaching of the fashion world landed her on the cover of Vogue in 2012, the first female Black athlete to do so.
) “I think that’s what attracted me to tennis to begin with,” Draper says. “Everyone has their own style, their own way of playing. It’s not just to do with their shots: it’s their personality, the way they hold themselves, their little habits.
” Draper, for his part, is also on the crest of a radical style shift: he recently swapped out wearing jeans and AirForce for wearing jeans and boots. “I’ll definitely be doing some experimental things,” he continues. “I wouldn’t say no to an Agassi mullet.
My brother [Ben, his manager] wouldn’t be pleased, but luckily I have a mind of my own. Don’t worry about that.” There are, for now at least, more pressing things to contend with than a haircut, or holiday reenactments with world-famous models.
“My ranking’s gone up and people know who I am, but I’ve been through lots of ups and downs to get here,” he says. “It’s been a real journey to understand what I need to do to keep on improving as a player, and as a person.” Having cracked the top 10 on the back of his first Masters 1000 triumph in Indian Wells last month, Draper is now set on defending his ranking on the clay courts of Madrid and Rome, before heading to the French Open and Wimbledon later in the summer.
“My preparation is always the same thing: rock up to the court, listen to my coach, and do all the right things to ensure I’m banking good days every day.” Understood. But is there no time to plunge himself into the deep blue? “I’m fortunate enough to go to lots of nice places where there are beaches, and even though I’m focused on tennis, I try to open my mind to taking in what’s around me,” he concludes.
“My holidays right now are when I can go back to my flat in the UK. I’m very patriotic, I love living in England and I love everything about coming back.”.
