Heat’s on as fragile Draper told to toughen up

A veteran pair of pundits have advised Brit Jack Draper to lift his fitness or get left behind in the ATP stampede as the Londoner reaches towards the ranking top 10.

Draper, son of a former controversial tennis administrator, currently stands 15th in the world and won the first two titles of his career this season in Stuttgart and last weekend in Vienna,

But the 22-year-old has a weak point which opponents cannot fail to notice: he vomited on court during the warm weather Australian and US Opens  and had other mid-match difficulties at the summer Paris Olympics.

Tennis wise men Andy Roddick and Mark Petchey, both keen commentators of the sport, have advised the Brit to get a training base outside of the UK in a hot-weather venue in order to bring his fitness up to scratch.

The tactic worked for Andy Murray, who received his basic tennis training as a teenager in Spain after fleeing wintery and wet Scotland ; other European players often choose the searing temperatures of Dubai for training purposes.

Many others pick nearby Monaco, with tax-free status part of the attractive package.

Draper, however, may need some convincing to uproot his life in favour of building up career and former British player Petchey makes a convincing case: 

“Jack has an incredible skill set on the tennis court which to me, is much more important than his body has ever been,” he told Bally Casino.

“I’ll choose skills and weapons over physique in tennis every time as a coach.

“However, I do think Jack needs to go and live in a hot, humid place for a couple of years to make sure that he takes the stress out of what he feels like when his body starts really hurting in those conditions.”

Petchey added: “I think that (moving to the heat) would be the smartest decision that he could make and would take his Grand Slam-winning potential even higher.

“It won’t be easy for him, but if he’s going to make that sacrifice, I think it will bring him the results that he wants. Jack works his butt off on all areas of his game and anyone that thinks differently is just frankly wrong.”

Roddick, who transferred from the  chilly American flatland Midwest to the sweltering weather of Austin, Texas, during his career, agrees.

“I would get my body ready doing sprints, lifting, doing the whole thing for a month straight in Austin,” he said on his podcast.

“We would stop in Hawaii on the way to Australia to get used to time zones, but I would literally play on this court in Hawaii that was made of lava rocks and would just cook myself for two weeks to get used [to the heat].”

“The difference in training is making sure that your body can – you have to be prepared at a Slam.

“Your body has to be able and be prepared to play five hours, seven times, 14 days, in heat, in weather.”