British number one Jack Draper has confirmed he has parted ways with coach Wayne Ferreira ahead of the US Open.
Draper kicks off her US Open campaign on Tuesday against China’s Zhang Zhizhen – watch live Sky Sports Tennis.
He comes into the tournament coming off a promising run that included a quarterfinal run at last week’s Cincinnati Open, but will be playing in New York after removing Ferreira from the training staff after just four months.
The 22-year-old, who proved a threat on American hard courts last year with an impressive run to the fourth round, will once again train exclusively with James Trotman.
“Wayne joining the team was obviously a good decision because of his coaching values and his experience as a player, but I’ve always been a guy that likes to keep things simple,” Draper said at a news conference at Flushing Meadows.
“I’d never experienced that kind of team dynamic before, with two different voices and two coaches. I always wanted Trotz to lead what I was doing, but I just felt it wasn’t as simple as I wanted it to be and I wanted to have one voice on the team. I think parting ways with Wayne and doing what I wanted as a player was probably the right choice.”
“That being said, my time with Wayne was great, I learned a lot and got a lot of valuable things from him. He’s a great guy and I know we’ll always remain friends.”
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Revisiting the story of Draper’s sensational win at the Stuttgart Open
The Ferreira-Draper pairing performed well, with the young Briton beating Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s, winning the Stuttgart Open and rapidly climbing the rankings in his short time partnering Draper.
“Part of it is how Wayne viewed my game, but also because I’ve had some tough losses, losing 7-6 in the third set and not giving my all,” Draper said.
“After the French Open, I had a big change of mindset. I realized that I would never be the player I wanted to be unless I really tried to change myself. It’s good for someone to tell you you have to change, but you have to change yourself.”
“I think it was the right timing to team up with Wayne. I’m a different player and I’m always trying to become different to grow and get better as a player.”
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