“Big D! It’s a shame coz I don’t have one” – Jack Draper hilariously responds to nickname suggestions at Ultimate Tennis Showdown event in London

English tennis player Jack Draper recently went through a bunch of nickname suggestions on the sidelines of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) event in London.

Draper is participating in the Grand Final of the UTS 2023 season in London. Nicknamed 'The Power,' he currently sits atop round-robin standings in Group B, which includes the likes of Gael Monfils, Alexander Bublik, and Holger Rune. Most recently, he defeated Rune 3-0 in his first group fixture.

Draper sat down with tournament hosts Max Whittle and Jenny Drummond for a discussion over his nickname for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown event. All the nicknames were fan suggestions.

Drummond first pitched 'Jack in the Service Box' to the Englishman, who replied:

"Terrible, that’s absolutely terrible."

Whittle brought up the next fan suggestion, ‘Jack the Ripper.’ Draper was impressed with the name but found the connotation evil.

"It’s a good name but I mean the context behind it is pretty sinister," he said.

The next one was Dr Dra, inspired by rapper and producer Andre Young's stage name Dr Dre. The World No. 61 wasn't completely convinced by the recommendation.

Drummond further read out a fan's plea to Draper requesting him to not change his name.

"Someone actually wanted you to keep your own name, Jack Draper because it was a kind of cool name, like Bond-esk like James Bond," Drummond spoke.

Draper must have heard that a lot thus far as he said:

"People do say often like, ‘Oh I like your name Jack Draper.’ A lot of foreign people as well say to me, ‘I love your name, your name’s amazing’."

The 21-year-old later said:

"I want a name that’s like it’s good but it’s also you know I’m ready to come and play."

At this point, Drummond put forward the name 'Big D'. Draper hilariously trashed the proposal saying:

"Big D! It’s a shame coz I don’t have one. Sorry!"

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A brief account of Jack Draper's performances at Grand Slam tennis events in 2023

Jack Draper in action: 2023 US Open Tennis

Jack Draper competed at three out of four Grand Slam events in the 2023 tennis season. He couldn't participate in the Wimbledon Championships due to a shoulder injury.

Draper tasted little success in the first two Grand Slams. He crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round with a loss to Rafael Nadal, and was forced to retire midway through his debut appearance at the French Open in May.

At the US Open in September, the Englishman hit the right notes. He went as far as the Round of 16 with convincing wins over the likes of Hubert Hurkacz, Michael Mmoh, and Radu Albot. However, Draper couldn't get past teighth seed Andrey Rublev from Russia in the last 16.