Draper ready to carry post-Murray Wimbledon mantle

Jack Draper, the British men’s number one, says he can handle the task of leading the home country’s hopes at the first Wimbledon since Sir Andy Murray’s retirement.

Draper, who is currently ranked fourth in the world, has risen to the position of a genuine Wimbledon contender after a stunning increase over the past year.

When the grass-court Grand Slam begins on Monday, the left-handed Englishman will be the fourth seed.

Since Murray, the 2017 world number one and defending champion, no home player has been given a seed as high at the All England Club.

When Andy retired, Draper, who starts against Sebastian Baez from Argentina and must navigate a difficult path to the end, said, “I was the next in line.”

“I’ll keep trying my best to keep trying and improving, to promote my best tennis, and to hopefully present myself as the player and person I want to be.”

Andy has done a fantastic job of that, had incredible success, and won over the nation.

“There must be many, many shoes to fill,” it seems. That is something I am aware of. I’m optimistic about my ability to inspire others like Andy has done, but I’m also confident in myself.

In the men’s and women’s singles draws, Draper leads 23 British players overall, which is the highest total since 1984.

In a year, Draper has advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open, the prestigious Indian Wells title, and two more ATP Tour finals.

Draper will not be the first British player to win at Wimbledon, but he will be subject to more scrutiny given his ascendancy in the men’s game.

Draper claims he is aware of his ability to turn to Murray and Tim Henman, another former British top ten player who helped inspire the nation, for guidance when necessary.

Draper praised Andy for giving me “an amazing amount of feedback and advice over the years.”

He added that he dislikes interfering. He said that he is very reluctant to criticize me because he understands what it’s like to be in this position, as I reported earlier.

“I know Andy will be there for me whenever I need him.”

Many British eyes will be trained on Emma Raducanu’s development in addition to Draper.

The 22-year-old claims she “truthfully expects much” from herself over the next two weeks despite losing to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun in the final 16.

Raducanu claims she needed to “get her head in the game” for Wimbledon to begin after losing in Eastbourne earlier this week.

Raducanu reported having been dealing with ongoing back spasms and had received some “pretty bad” personal information that she wanted to keep private.

Raducanu, who is ranked 38th in the world, admitted that “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things.”

“I just want to be present and enjoy the occasion.”

When Raducanu won the US Open as a qualifier, he first caught the attention of the British public when he led a breakout run to the Wimbledon final 16 as a teenager in 2021. Three months later, he stunned the world by donning the same name.

Mimi Xu, a 17-year-old British player who competed at Wimbledon just weeks after passing A-level exams, will play her on Monday. Xu is a similar player to Raducanu four years ago.

“I think it’s a very difficult and dangerous match,” Raducanu said.

“I believe Mimi has a lot of weapons and is a really, really good player.”