For fans of the iconic series Mad Men, seeing a person named Draper throwing up isn’ that much of a surprise. But unlike his alcoholic TV namesake, British tennis player Jack Draper didn’t have a drop of booze in him on Monday.
But that didn’t stop him from leaving everything he had on the court. Literally.
After rallying back from a 2-1 set deficit against American Marcos Giron to win his first match of the Australian Open in five sets, Draper quickly shook Giron’s hand at the net and then rushed to the nearest trash can to puke his guts out.
The three-hour, 20-minute match saw Draper drop two straight sets after winning the opening set 6-4. The 22-year-old Brit then fought back with a 6-0 fourth set before closing out the match with a 6-2 fifth set.
“It was weird,” Draper told reporters, via Reuters. “I obviously played such a long point, maybe it was sort of a reaction to finally getting over the line. I don’t know.”
Draper admitted he felt bad that he had to hurry his 30-year-old opponent to the net, ensuring he didn’t spew on him.
“I kind of felt bad because I obviously just beat the guy, and I was saying, ‘I need to shake your hand, mate, but I need to get to that bin’. I don’t really do that often, but it was a reaction.”
Temperatures during the match were in the upper 80s, but did not get hot enough to trigger the tournament’s extreme heat policy.
Draper will face 14-seed Tommy Paul in the second round later this week.