Jack Draper eyes top 10 with Indian Wells semi-final

Jack Draper is on the verge of a rankings breakthrough at the Indian Wells Open, with the British tennis player able to make the world’s top 10 for the first time if he beats Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday in California.

Draper sits 135 points shy of the top 10 in the live rankings heading into the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event, but a win would propel him into eighth place, overtaking Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur.

Victory is far from guaranteed though, as top bookmakers favour Alcaraz ahead of the pair’s fifth meeting with Bet365, putting the Spaniard at $1.33 to win.

These tennis betting odds will not phase Draper, however, as the 23-year-old was also an underdog heading into his round-of-16 match against world No.4 Taylor Fritz, which he won in straight sets.

The prospect of making the world’s top 10 for the first time is not on the Brit’s radar this weekend, with Draper explaining that he is just taking matches as they come.

“In all honesty, I don’t think about it at all,” he said after beating 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.

“So obviously it’s really exciting, all those things.

“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 bookmakers put Draper on the third line of betting ($7) to claim his maiden ATP Masters title this tournament.

His semi-final opponent Alcaraz is favourite ($1.44), while Daniil Medvedev holds the second line of betting ($5) and Holger Rune is on the last line ($11).

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