Jack of hearts 💕
Indian Wells Week 2
This one’s for the Jack Pack, the Draper Darlings—the most hopelessly romantic fanbase in tennis.
Indian Wells is almost over. Carlos Alcaraz is so close to winning for a third year in a row. We’re about to see an Australian Open final rematch on the women’s side. Hopefuls like Fils, Tsitsipas, and Shelton have come and gone. Seventeen-year old Mirra Andreeva has arrived. It’s been exciting. I still don’t think Palm Springs is a real place though.
In this newsletter I cover Indian Wells Week 2’s:
🏆 Biggest Winner
😢 Biggest Loser
💪 Biggest Flex
🫤 Biggest Flop
🎤 Shoutout(s)
🏆 Biggest Winner
Jack Draper
Earlier this month, Draper was featured in Vogue after capturing the attention of Anna Wintour, who’s been seen sitting courtside at his matches. Since Roger Federer retired, Wintour has been patiently waiting for her next tennis muse. Jack Draper does fit her bill. He’s chiseled, stylish, plays elegantly and is really fucking good at tennis.
I picked Draper as winner for week 2 of IW after a brilliant run. He defeated the rising star Fonseca, Taylor Fritz (3), and on Thursday night, Draper pwned the American spirit by defeating fellow lefty Ben Shelton (11). It was a top-quality back-and-forth match that proved to me that Jack Draper is a top player. Draper has had a quick and steady come-up the last couple of years to become the British number one and has consistently become a threat to other top tennis players.
Not only that, but this tournament makes it feel like Jack Draper has finally caught the eye of many others. He has a cult following now. When he takes off his shirt during change over, the crowd erupts with cheers. They wait patiently for their prince after his match with custom made signs I’ve never seen before in the likes of sports. It’s truly romantic.
I also love him because he’s insane. Remember during the US Open last year when he threw up on the court multiple times against Sinner and kept playing.
😢 Biggest Loser
Stefanos Tsisipas
The prince that was never king was defeated by Holger Rune in two sets on Tuesday. To me, Tsitsipas has had one of the strangest careers in tennis due to his early success, inconsistency, and stagnation—not to mention employing and firing his father as his coach, the refusal to fix his weak backhand, and his awkward high-profile relationship with Paula Badosa. Also, his AI-generated tweets are so strange to me.
What’s notably strange to me is that the sentiment at IW was that Tsitsipas was “back again” or something like that—when in fact he never fully arrived. Two weeks ago, he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in Dubai to win his first ATP 500. Before that he was 0-11 at this level. The win came after an especially tumultuous year. Stefanos fired his father as his coach and switched to a “mystery racquet” (apparently it was a Babolat Pure Aero 98).
I chose Tsitsipas as the biggest loser of week 2 simply because of all the hype that comes with him and his consistent failure to deliver in big moments. At Indian Wells. he never had a big test until Holger Rune. Seyboth Wild is 91st in the world and Berrettini hasn’t found good form in years. However, he’s never beat Holger Rune. When given the chance to show he’s truly “back,” he lost in two sets.
💪 Biggest Flex
Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton is just too strong. He’s too athletic. He serves too fast. He scares me.
Shelton also had a great tournament. I picked him as biggest flex because I was watching when he served 150mph. This puts him as one of the top servers in tennis history and he’s only 22 years old. Not to compare, but Andy Roddick was around his age when he served 155mph 🤔
Also, Ben if you’re reading your face looked a little puffy on court. I’m not sure if you use a gua sha or not but this is the one I use. It does wonders to drain your lymph nodes.
Honorable Mention: Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos had to flex that he’s richer than all of us. He’s the type of friend who wins two tennis tournaments and asks if he should move there.
🫤 Biggest Flop
Taylor Fritz’s Haircut
I’m not sure who Taylor Fritz let near his head, but I think his haircut caused him to lose to Jack Draper.
I did some investigative journalism and researched all the possible barbers Taylor Fritz could have gone to in Palm Springs and concluded there’s a 76% chance it was CUT Barber. I matched up his haircut style to previous haircuts conducted at CUT Barber and they all have similar head corner radiuses (about 90 degrees).
I would also like to highlight an interesting theory I found online that proves Jack Draper is insane. The theory is Jack Draper has been trying to steal Taylor Fritz’s haircut for some time and that’s how he’s been engaging in mental warfare.
🎤 Shoutouts
Happy 21st birthday Coco Gauff! You make me feel old and remind me how much I haven’t accomplished in my life.
🤓 Suggested Read: Mirra Andreeva Is Just Getting Started
🤓 Suggested Read: Serena Williams’ return to Indian Wells after 14-year tennis boycott: ‘Her family had been vindicated’
🤓 Suggested Read: Stalking: Women's sport's grim underbelly
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