Jack Draper feeling 'physically and mentally good' as Brit makes last 16 at Indian Wells with straight-sets win

Jack Draper beat Jenson Brooksby 7-5 6-4 to advance at Indian Wells. The 13th seed had to fight back from a break down in the opening set before making lighter work of the second, to advance to the round of 16 in just his third tournament of the year following a hip injury. Draper has never been beyond the round of 16 at Indian Wells, and he will play Taylor Fritz next.

Jack Draper has advanced to the round of 16 at Indian Wells, after a straight-sets win over American Jenson Brooksby.

Having received a bye in the opening round, Draper demolished up-and-coming teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in the second before being made to work slightly harder by Brooksby.

Draper even smashed his racquet in the opening set, as he struggled to break down his opponent's unusual game.

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But the American - who has missed the majority of the last two years on the tour and is playing under a protected ranking - could not sustain his level, and Draper was soon able to pressurise his opponent into mistakes, as he came through in under two hours, 7-5 6-4.

It is only Draper’s third tournament of the year after a disrupted off-season saw him pull out of his Australian Open warm-up events with a hip problem.

He did manage to play in Melbourne, eventually retiring injured against Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round after coming through three five-set epics, before taking several weeks off the tour to nurse that hip injury.

He made his comeback in Doha - reaching the final, which he lost to Andrey Rublev. That run seems to have given him back his confidence - which was very much on show against Fonseca, and again against Brooksby once Draper found some rhythm.

"I felt confident, Jenson is someone who makes life very difficult for players. I didn’t know what to expect, he hasn’t played for a while, I haven't seen him play," Draper told Sky Sports after the match.

"It wasn’t the cleanest performance from my side today - I had a lot I could have improved on and a lot of chances I missed - but that’s tennis, you can’t play your best the whole time, and I’m glad with the way I stayed calm and kept on going and got the win in the end. 

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"I feel physically good, I feel mentally good. You’ve seen a lot of top players go out early this week, especially because the conditions are so different. Sometimes you have to accept it’s not going to be your best tennis and a lot of that is how I’m feeling.

"I’m hitting the ball good but sometimes it is just not coming off the racquet the way I want it to. I accept that, and next round I’ll get things a bit better again."

Draper had won his two previous encounters against Brooksby comfortably in straight sets - but that was back in 2022, and the duo had not met on outdoor hard courts before. 

And coming into the match, there were far more question marks over Brooksby’s form than Draper’s, with the American having barely played for two years.

He was originally sidelined in early 2023 following two separate wrist surgeries, before being banned for missing three drug tests - a suspension that was reduced on appeal. 

As such, 2025 is Brooksby’s first season back on the tour in two years - and he acquitted himself well in the opening set, before the pressure got to the American and the errors crept into his unorthodox game. 

Draper has yet to make it past the round of 16 at Indian Wells, and he will play Taylor Fritz next after the American overcame Alejandro Tabilo in three sets.

Kartal continues incredible lucky loser run

It was a good day for the Brits as Sonay Kartal recorded another huge career win. She has made it through to the round of 16 at Indian Wells, despite being in the draw as a lucky loser.

The British player, who reached a high of 80 in the world last month, beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-3 to make it to the fourth round.

Sonay Kartal of Great Britain shakes hands at the net after her straight sets victory against Polina Kudermetova

Image credit: Getty Images

Having beaten 16th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the previous round, Kartal could not quite keep that momentum going as she lost her serve early in the match.

But she recovered superbly before motoring through the second set - she has yet to drop a set since being parachuted into the main draw. 

Her task is about to get tougher in the next round, though - she will play world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets.

Coco Gauff also won against Maria Sakkari, Gauff coming through 7-6(1) 6-2 despite serving up nine double faults.

Australian Open winner Madison Keys was made to work hard for her victory, needing three sets to overcome Elise Mertens. 

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