Jack Draper reveals he will ‘lean on’ Andy Murray after his compatriot retires
Jack Draper has paid tribute to compatriot Andy Murray, with the 22-year-old revealing that he will contact the former world No.1 ‘a lot more’ following his retirement.
Draper is currently the British No.2 (world No.35), and is closing in on the top spot currently held by world No.33 Cameron Norrie.
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Both Murray and Draper are currently in Geneva for the ATP 250 tournament ahead of Roland Garros, and the latter has spoken about how he will utilise the three-time major winner following his retirement.
“It is going to be much easier to tap into him [Murray] when he has finished,” Draper told PA. “As a tennis player you don’t have time to think of anything but yourself. You are always thinking what you can do better.”
Draper continued, “When he has stopped I will be contacting him a lot more, asking him for opinions on certain things, asking him what he has tried and if it has worked for him.
“I am definitely going to lean on Andy a lot and I am sure he will want to help me because he has always been very supportive of me. I think when he stops he will want to help more because he is not so focused on his own things.”
Murray has been very open about the fact that he is unlikely to continue playing after this summer, and Draper has heaped praise on the two-time Olympic gold medal winner.
“Andy has done so much for British tennis and so much for the sport in general, for me he is one of the greatest players of all time,” claimed Draper. “He is going to have an unbelievable legacy and I do feel a responsibility to lead on from where he has been.
“I want to achieve so much in the sport, it is not all about winning, it is about inspiring kids to play and making people pick up a racket and knowing that tennis isn’t all just about playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon, it can be amazing for so many people in different ways.”
Both Draper and Murray will begin their Geneva Open campaigns later today, when they play against Tomas Machac and Yannick Hanfmann, respectively.
Inside the baseline…
It is clear how much Andy Murray means to British tennis and not just the fans, but also his fellow players including Jack Draper. Murray and Draper clearly have a very good relationship and it would be interesting to see what sort of advice would be given to his younger compatriot. It will also be intriguing to see if anyone is ready to step up to fill the void left by Murray when he does retire, and if Draper is able to handle that pressure.
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