Jack Draper has admitted he has “big shoes to fill” in the first Wimbledon after Andy Murray. And the British No.1 has revealed he is escaping the expectation of being the new home favourite – and his criminally bad draw – by watching MobLand.
After his SW19 debut in 2005, Murray carried British hopes and fears at Wimbledon for two decades as he won two titles before limping out last year. The next Grand Slam saw Draper reach the US Open semi-finals and he has continued his climb up the rankings this year to world No. 4. Jack the lad is now the main man here.
“I think obviously when Andy retired, they said I was the next in line for that,” said Draper, 23.
“I know it’s Wimbledon coming up, but I think I didn’t really think about it then, and I’ve improved so much and put myself in this position. I’ll keep trying to do my best to keep try and improving, to show my best tennis out there, to hopefully present myself as the player and the person I want to be.
“Obviously Andy has done an unbelievable job of that and has been incredibly successful and has become adored by the nation. It’s obviously big shoes to fill. I’m aware of that. At the same time I’m confident in myself that hopefully I can inspire people like Andy has done, myself.”
In three previous appearances here, Draper has only won two matches and he lost in the second round last year to Cameron Norrie. “I definitely feel like a very different player,” he claimed.
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“I feel like personally I’ve grown a lot again since last year. I think I have a lot more belief in myself physically, also as a tennis player, mentally. I feel like I’m very different in all areas. Obviously I still feel I can improve so, so much. I’m nowhere near hopefully where I want to get to as a player. But I’m happy to come here one year later with the amount of progress that I’ve made. I’m very proud of that.”
As well as working on his 6ft 4 in frame, Draper has worked with a breathing coach to help handle his anxiety. “It was important for me in tennis where there’s such small margins, such small percentages,” he said. “I started working with a lady called Ann Coxhead, who has a long career in sort of breathing, expertise in different sports. The work I’ve done with her has been invaluable. It’s been a real asset to my tennis.”
Away from the court, he added: “I definitely try and switch off. I go back home. I watch a bit of Netflix, try and sleep, recover as best I can. Recently I watched on Paramount+ “MobLand.” Very good. Tom Hardy, I liked it.”
Friday’s draw saw Draper slated to face his French Open conqueror Alexander Bublik in the third round and then potentially seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. But first there is world No.38 Sebastian Baez.
“I look at my first round, who I have,” said Draper. “I haven’t looked at that at all. I respect every person in the draw. I’ve got Baez on Tuesday, and I’m not looking further than that. We’ll start with that one.”
