British star Jack Draper fuelled by unruly fans as he eyes off taking down another local at the Australian Open

Brit Jack Draper, the crusher of Australian grand slam dreams, says the more fans abuse him, the better he’ll be ahead of a third-round clash with another local hope.

British star Jack Draper says he has “a thick skin” but after taking down one Australian opponent to set up a third-round clash with another at Melbourne Park has declared the louder the fans yell the better he plays.

Draper, who also knocked Alex de Minaur out of the US Open in 2024, will take on local hope Aleksandar Vukic in the third round on Friday having disposed of injury-hit Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday night after channelling former Socceroos coach and now Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou to deal with the raucous crowd who created a “tough atmosphere” in their five-set epic on John Cain Arena.

The 15th seed said there was some “abuse” thrown his way but Draper played his part, cupping his hands to his ears at one stage in the deciding set.

Britain's Jack Draper responds to the crowd. Picture: David Gray / AFP

He said the environment was “difficult” but also “electric” and he expected more of the same when he takes on 28-year-old Vukic in pursuit of a fourth-round spot.

“It was an electric atmosphere. Obviously getting quite a lot of abuse from the crowd in between serves at the back of the court and all that sort of stuff,” Draper said.

“In between serves, the whistling, talking., I mean it’s all fun, but when you’re trying to serve, it’s difficult, but I had a little bit of fun back too.

“Sometimes you don’t want to sort of rile them or give it back, but it gave me energy doing that. It’s nice to sort of just give it like a bit of an ear or something like that. I have a thick skin. It’s fun.”

Draper had earlier in the week watched Postecoglou calm dealings with abuse he later revealed included things being thrown at him during the FA Cup tie between lower-ranked Tamworth and Tottenham.

“Everyone was getting on Ange’s back the other night, and he just stood there taking it. It’s good sport. It’s entertainment,” Draper said.

“Like I said, it gave me energy. I appreciate that.”

Draper signed off his post-match press conference happy to be considered an Aussie enemy, knowing more interaction could help push him over the line.

“Yeah, exactly,” he said.