Jack Draper is not the ‘next Andy Murray’, but he can emulate his friend and idol at the US Open

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Jack Draper And Andy Murray Both are tennis players, but that’s where the similarities end. At 22, Murray was still trying to make headlines after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, when he was portrayed as some kind of misanthrope, an unrepentant grump. In contrast, Draper, who plays tennis, Her first Grand Slam semifinal On Friday, he is embracing fame. “I love being in front of the camera,” he said. British Vogue “If I look good, that is,” she said while shooting a cover this summer.

Draper posed in a checked coat and leather jacket, with his hair flowing over his forehead like Danny Zuko, one of his many hairstyles. “I’ve had a buzzcut, a Mohawk, a mullet…” Meanwhile, Murray was recently asked what advice he would give his younger self. “Get a hair cut,” he replied. “And wear some clothes that fit.”

And yet, for all their differences, there is a clear and unique connection. Murray’s third advice to himself was to enjoy tennis before it’s over. Now it’s goneAnd, when Draper became the first British man to reach the last four of a Grand Slam since Murray at the French Open in 2017, it clearly felt like the torch had been handed over.

Draper defeated world number 10 Alex de Minaur in the quarter finals US Open and said he was extremely proud to follow in the footsteps of his friend and sporting icon Murray. “I miss him in the changing room. I miss being next to his stinky boots and all his stinky clothes. Andy is a legend. If I can have even half the career he had, I’ll be a happy man.”

Draper’s rise was somewhat different from that of Murray, who In Dunblane and moved to Barcelona in his teens. He is the son of former Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Roger Draper and British junior champion Nicky Draper. He attended the private Reed’s School in Surrey and was coached from a young age, developing a powerful left-handed serve and forehand despite being naturally right-handed.

By this point in his career, Murray had reached several Slam quarterfinals, won four ATP titles and was ranked No. 4 in the world. Draper is ranked No. 25, having won one tour title so far, Stuttgart Open He won in June. The gap is partly a difference in natural ability, but it’s also evident in Draper’s struggles with a plethora of back, hip, ankle, shoulder injuries – which means this is his first year of truly consistent play.

Draper recently said of his struggles in 2022 and 2023, “My body was made of glass” – and there’s a parallel here with Murray, whose body broke down as a young emerging player, drawing sharp criticism in the media. Murray worked on his body over the winter of 2007/08 and bounced back unrecognisably the following season, leading to his famous bicep-flex celebration at Wimbledon the following summer.

Draper has also spent the past 12 months working hard in the gym to become more physically flexible. He admits he hasn’t always adopted a professional mindset, indulging in fast food and a few beers on a night out, as evidenced by a comical video of him drinking in the car with Murray on a drive home last year (Murray drove sober while Draper sang “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” at the top of his lungs).,

In New York this week, Draper returned straight to his hotel after a match or practice, ordered a healthy meal via Deliveroo and watched a movie. His coach has banned caffeinated coffee.

“I can make a cup of tea in the room and then watch a series or something,” he said of his new purist lifestyle. Gangs of London Lately. Doing anything to save mental and physical energy, whether it’s calling home or just relaxing. Being a top tennis player is a bit lonely sometimes. You just have to make a lot of sacrifices.”

This summer he has reached a new level, not just in terms of his on-court achievements but also in his methods. His run to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows was flawless, without dropping a set, and the way he swept de Minaur off the court with a blistering serve and a flurry of thunderous forehand winners was a statement to the rest of the players.

next This one has a tough test in world No. 1, Jannik Sinner. The pair know each other well from their junior days but their professional paths have crossed only once, when Draper won a tight encounter at Queens Club in 2021. The winner will book a date with a hostile crowd against an American Second Semi-final, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, in an open tournament without any players Defeated Carlos Alcaraz And Novak Djokovic.

Even if it doesn’t happen this time, Draper has shown enough to suggest he can one day match Murray and become a Grand Slam champion. He will forge his own path and it would be unfair to expect him to replicate Murray’s achievements: reaching No. 1 in the world, winning three Slams in 11 finals, winning a total of 46 titles including two Olympic golds and a Davis Cup triumph With a lobe from the godsBritish tennis may never see another Murray. But at least Draper won’t have to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

No matter what he achieves, Draper will always have Murray’s support. The two trained together when Murray was recovering from hip resurfacing surgery in 2018, giving the young Draper not only the chance to play with one of the best players in the world but also to learn from his mind, which he still uses today. “Whenever I have a question, I often pick up the phone and talk to Andy and get his advice on things,” he said this week.

Perhaps one difference between the two at this stage of their careers is that the world already knows Draper in a way they didn’t know Murray, at least not at first. As well as being a self-professed tennis fanatic, he is also a football fanatic (Manchester United), music fanatic (rap, grime and Oasis) and animal lover (he lives in south-west London with a dog called Ozzy). “If I called him Rafa or something it would sound a bit weird,” he explained.

It’s a well-balanced life, but Draper has devoted himself to his profession with renewed vigour in recent months and it’s proving fruitful. He’s in the best place of his career, fit and in form, fully focused on his goal of climbing up the rankings. However, there are still little signs of a colourful life off the court: as when he knocked out Tomas Machac in the fourth round, Prevalence Editor Anna Wintour noticed Murray had won a few other titles by this stage, but he never got this one.