Jack Draper Stuns Novak Djokovic In Epic Indian Wells Thriller To Reach Quarter Finals

Britain’s Jack Draper secured one of the biggest wins of his career on Wednesday after defeating Novak Djokovic in a gripping three set contest at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Draper beat the five time champion 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and keep his title defence alive.

The match lasted three intense sets and featured long rallies as both players pushed each other physically. Draper had a chance to close the match while serving at 5-4 in the deciding set but failed to hold serve, forcing the contest into a tie break.

"I came out here tonight and I won that match through determination and trying to problem solve and do my best and have a great attitude," Draper said in his on-court interview.

"I’m proud of the way I regrouped. I haven’t been playing on the Tour [in] a long time, so to put away guys who are top players, it’s something that comes with confidence. It was a tough moment for me, but again, something I’m getting used to since coming back and I regrouped really well. That’s something I can be really proud of."

Both players traded powerful baseline shots throughout the contest. One of the standout moments came in the opening game of the deciding set when Djokovic won a 26 shot rally at 30 all. The exchange drew a standing ovation from the crowd and set the tone for the rest of the match.

Djokovic struggled at times to recover his breath after several long rallies while Draper raised his level and continued to attack. The Serbian earned a 0/40 lead when Draper served for the match at 5-4 and eventually broke serve. Draper, however, responded quickly and stayed composed to win the deciding set tie break.

"For me to be on court again these last few weeks has been emotional for me and I’m really grateful for it," Draper said. "To come out here against Novak, for me the greatest tennis player there is, and someone I’ve been admiring and watching since I was a little kid. To do that, I’m just incredibly proud of myself."

With the win, Draper improved to 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Djokovic. Their previous meeting took place at Wimbledon in 2021.

Draper had a breakthrough season last year when he reached a career high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings. However, the three time tour level titlist ended his season early in September due to an arm injury. He returned to competition last month in a Davis Cup tie against Norway before competing at the ATP 500 event in Dubai.

The 14th seed will next face two time Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev, who defeated American player Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 to enter the quarter finals.

Djokovic was aiming to join rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only men to reach 10 Indian Wells quarter finals in tournament history. The 38 year old leaves California with a 7-2 season record. Djokovic had earlier reached the final of the Australian Open before losing to world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.