“It's big shoes to fill”: Jack Draper aims to follow Andy Murray’s Wimbledon winning path

Britain’s Jack Draper has expressed his desire to follow in the footsteps of his countryman Andy Murray at Wimbledon this year. The second Grand Slam of the year will begin on Monday in London. Just like every year, there will be extra focus on local players, and in that list, Draper is sitting at the very top.

The 23-year-old will enter the competition as the fourth seed and will face Sebastian Baez of Argentina in the first-round encounter on Tuesday. Talking ahead of the competition with the media, Draper, who has never managed to get past the second round at Wimbledon, expressed his desire to follow in the footsteps of the former world number one Murray and become the second British player ever to win the Grand Slam on the home soil in the Open era.

"When Andy retired, he said I was the next in line, and I know it's Wimbledon coming up," said Draper. "I didn't really think about it then, and I've improved so much to put myself in this position. I'll keep trying to do my best and keep improving, to show my best tennis out there. Andy's done an unbelievable job of that and has been incredibly successful and become adored by the nation. It's big shoes to fill, and I'm aware of that, but at the same time, I'm confident in myself that I can inspire people like Andy has done. I think he's reluctant to comment on anything to do with me because he understands what it's like to be in this position. I know Andy's right there for me if I need him at any time. There may come a point where I ask him a few things and I'm sure he'll come back and be extremely helpful and supportive as always."

Murray, who retired from professional tennis in 2024, had an impressive record while playing at Wimbledon, where he lifted the title twice. In 2013, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6–4, 7–5, 6–4. Three years later, Murray lifted his second Wimbledon title after beating Canada’s Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–2).