5 hours ago
9
There is an Andy Murray-shaped hole in the British pack at Wimbledon these days - but Jack Draper is confident he can step into the Scotsman's shoes and lead the home charge over the coming years.
Draper enters his third Wimbledon with the weight of expectation on his shoulders after a glittering 12 months that has seen him reach the US Open semi-final, win a Masters tournament at Indian Wells and go into his home Grand Slam as the fourth seed.
He has been studying clips of two-time winner Murray playing at SW19 and hopes to take inspiration as he begins his campaign against Argentinian clay-court specialist Sebastian Baez on Tuesday.
'He's a huge inspiration for me,' said 23-year-old Londoner Draper of Murray. 'Watching him play Wimbledon and just the legacy he leaves behind, it's massive.
'I have obviously not had the chance to see him around loads. I have been looking back over old videos of him playing and I'm always very inspired by him. I'm looking forward to seeing him. When I say watching Andy, I have drawn a lot of inspiration from watching him play.
'I used to watch him on Sky Sports playing all the Grand Slams, obviously Wimbledon on the BBC, and just seeing the ups and downs of his matches and how he's able to claw them back.
Jack Draper is confident he can step into Andy Murray's shoes at Wimbledon
Draper has taken inspiration from his idol Murray by watching footage of him in action
'He had competitive spirit and unbelievable craft on the court.
'So whenever I watch him play, I'm reminded of the times I used to watch him and wanted to be a player myself. Watching him always inspires me the next day to want to improve even more.'
Draper advanced to the second week of both Grand Slams this year in Melbourne and Paris, but has never got past the second round on the grass of Wimbledon.
He goes into the tournament as fourth favourite behind back-to-back winner Carlos Alcaraz, world No 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.
He has beaten Alcaraz and Sinner on grass, so could give them a tough match if he was to progress here.
The Brit, though, is not thinking that far ahead. Team GB's Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said: 'I just talked to his coach, they don't look anything beyond the first-round match.
'You have to take care of business. The key thing for Jack is he is in a good place. He has got a great team around him.
'He has got a wonderful coach, but he also has the old Team Murray in his corner now with Matt Little and Shane Annun working on his body.
Draper comes into his home Grand Slam as the fourth favourite to lift the coveted trophy
He has already beaten Carlos Alcaraz on grass but is refusing to think too far ahead
'He is No 4 in the world for a reason. He has been very consistent.
'He has been fit, he has been healthy and has improved his game.'
