Jack Draper wins biggest title yet with dominant straight-sets victory over Holger Rune in final of ATP Indian Wells

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Jack Draper won the biggest title of his young career as he produced a superb display to defeat Holger Rune in the final of Indian Wells. Draper, the 13th seed in the Californian desert, had come through world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the last four in stunning fashion on Saturday, and continued his scintillating form to dismantle his Danish opponent in Sunday's showpiece, winning 6-2 6-2.

Britain's Jack Draper poses with the trophy after defeating Denmark's Holger Rune (R) during the men's singles final tennis match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, on March 16, 2025.

Image credit: Getty Images

Jack Draper took his career to the next level as he dominated Holger Rune to claim his first ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells.

The Brit, seeded 13th in California, played beautifully to win 6-2 6-2 in just an hour and 10 minutes, with a final Rune backhand landing on the tramlines to seal the deal.

Draper had remarkably swept aside world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz en route to Sunday's final, beating the Spaniard in three sets having slaughtered him in the opening set 6-1, before showing serious character to bounce back from a second-set bagel to take the decider 6-4 in an all-time classic.

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He adds the title from the Tennis Garden to his growing collection, which now boasts three titles, including the 2024 Stuttgart and Vienna Opens.

Draper has continued his superb rise from last year into this season, following up his semi-final appearance at the US Open by reaching the last 16 of the Australian Open for the first time - retiring injured against Alcaraz - before defeating two top-five players, Taylor Fritz and Alcaraz, on his way to the Indian Wells title, as he climbs into the top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time.

The Briton made a similar lightning start to the one that he had produced against Alcaraz on Saturday, racing into a 4-0 lead in the blink of an eye, with most on the 16,000-seater Stadium 1 thinking that he would win the title at a canter.

That might have been the case had he taken his chance to break Rune for a third straight time in the fifth game, but the Dane held firm to deny Draper the chance of a bagel and got himself on the scoreboard.

However, the 23-year-old was in his groove, and he tied up the opening set in half an hour, and it seemed as though the match was only going one way, with Draper up seven aces to one, hitting 12 winners to four, and winning 80% of his service points by that stage.

In the second, he kept the good times rolling, breaking instantaneously twice to go up 3-0, and he threatened yet another break at 4-1.

That did not materialise, but it was not stopping him, as he steamrolled his way to the crown in dominant fashion, seeing out his penultimate service game to love, before converting his second championship point, having got a tad overexcited at the first, as he blasted a forehand high and wide.

"It's incredible," Draper said post-match.

"I wasn't expecting this. I put in a lot of work over time and I'm just so so grateful and happy to be out here, to be able to play, [with] my body feeling healthy, feeling great in the mind, and all the work I've done over the last few years.

"It feels like it's coming together on the big stage and I can’t put it into words.

"It was important [to break early in both sets]. I felt like I came out, approached the game well. Yesterday I had a few ups and downs during the match; a bit of low energy against Carlos, and I learned from that today.

"I knew that Holger was going to come out and be playing some really good tennis, so I needed to be aggressive and play to win from the first ball. I did an amazing job with that and I didn't allow him to play. I felt like I dictated the match really well.  

"I feel like I deserve [being in the ATP top 10] with the amount of adversity I've been through, the amount of sacrifices, the amount of time that all the people around me have put into me and the hard work [I’ve put in]. It's an emotional feeling to know how much you've gone through and put in and to be here now to say, I'm gonna be seven in the world tomorrow. Honestly, I can't tell you how much that means to me."

In his winner's acceptance speech, the Brit admitted that upon lifting the trophy, Indian Wells was one of his favourite events of the season.

"An amazing couple of weeks for Holger," Draper said of his opponent.

"I know how tough the sport is, how much we put into it on a daily basis, being away from home, with so many pressures and it's a real honour to share this court with you today. I'm looking forward to many more battles to come, but just all the best for the rest of the year and the great career you are going to have.

"I put so much work into this and you never really know when it's your time. I lost in the first round here last year, so I didn't get to experience the tournament too much. I didn’t expect to be here. This is one of my favoiurite tournaments now, of course."

Rune was gracious in defeat, and burst into tears as he thanked his family back home in Denmark.

"I have to start with congratulating Jack, what a two weeks you had," the 21-year-old said.

"You have been showing some incredible tennis and for sure, you deserved to win today, congrats. For me, it's been a great two weeks here. It never feels nice not to be able to to step over the final line, but that's life sometimes. It's been very, very special. The [support] means everything."

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