For the first time since 2006, a year in tennis will dawn without a certain Scot among the professional ranks. But somehow, as we sit in the basement of a London pub with the new British No1, we are still talking about Andy Murray.
‘It’s amazing for the sport that those two are coming together’, says Jack Draper of Murray’s decision to return to the tour as Novak Djokovic’s coach. ‘It’s going to be very interesting to see that dynamic unfold.
‘I figured Andy would take a break and do other things but one thing I do know about him is that he loves this sport so much.
‘He’ll be an amazing coach, his tennis brain is huge. He’ll find it incredibly fun and interesting to be around Djokovic, to see how one of his biggest rivals operates on a daily basis.’
For all the excitement of Murray’s return to the sport, it is Draper who will lead the British charge on court at this year’s Australian Open, which begins on January 12.
Even though Murray’s powers had faded, until his retirement in August the scale of his achievements and force of personality meant he was still a lightning rod for national attention.
Jack Draper has some large shoes to fill as British No 1 following the retirement of Andy Murray
But the 23-year-old insisted he has what it takes to carry the hopes of the nation on his shoulders
2024 proved to be a momentous year for Draper as he reached the semi-finals of the US Open
That glare will now shift solely on to Draper, on the men’s side at least, and his hulking shoulders are ready to take up that burden.
‘I’m a big character. I think my personality is ready to do that,’ he says. ‘I’m not afraid, I’m not going to go into my shell.
‘I want that responsibility but I’m not sitting every day in my living room thinking, Oh no, I’m the No1 Brit, what’s that going to mean? I’m focused on what I’m doing. I’m improving all the time. I hope I can be one of the top players in the world, and that’s great for Britain.’
The 23-year-old speaks with the confidence of a man coming off a breakthrough season. There were his first two titles, in Stuttgart and Vienna, a charge to the US Open semi-finals and a rise to No15 in the world.
But when asked for his highlight of the year he picks what from the outside seemed like a low point: the aftermath of a terrible defeat in the first round of the French Open to qualifier Jesper de Jong.
‘When I came home from Paris I was all over the place, thinking, “I need to get my s*** together”,’ says Draper. ‘”What am I doing? I’m not fulfilling my potential. I’m not the player I want to be”. When I look back over this year that brings me the most satisfaction, the most joy: working out situations and turning into a different player. So I’d say the best part this year was after Paris, not being in the best place with my tennis but having a great mindset.’
It is an insight into Draper’s gluttonous appetite for improvement, a topic to which we will return later. Next year, he has set himself the challenge of narrowing the gap to the men who won all four Grand Slams between in 2024: Carlos Alcaraz and Draper’s close friend Jannik Sinner.
‘One thing those two have in common is they’re not afraid to go after the ball when it matters,’ says Draper, when asked to measure the gap between himself and them. ‘They’re not afraid to put their put their tennis on the line and show their character.
Despite the success Draper’s breakthrough season also came with devastating lows
Draper was knocked out of the French Open in the first round by qualifier Jesper de Jong
He revealed that the defeat led to a realisation that he would not fulfil his potential if he didn’t make changes
‘These guys have played 300, 400 matches at the top, I’ve played 120 or so. I think about how much my mindset, tactical awareness and confidence have changed since summer last year. I think the only difference between me and them, honestly, is just experience.’
One match that will have been chalked up to experience is the US Open semi-final against Sinner, when Draper was so gripped by stomach pains that he vomited several times on court.
It was difficult to watch and difficult to explain. At the time Draper suggested the humidity and nerves were to blame but he now believes painkilling medication was the culprit.
‘Some of it was stress related but I was struggling with pain in my ankle and taking ibuprofen,’ he reveals. ‘As most people know, that kind of ruins your stomach and by the semi-final it had got to me. I think that’s one of the big reasons why I was struggling.’
Draper was quite the sight in that match: in his wild-eyed intensity it was as if there was a part of him that was masochistically enjoying it all. It was all rather Murray-esque and, as we return to discussing Djokovic’s new coach, Draper draws a parallel to the great Scot in describing how his mentality has shifted from hard-work to obsession.
‘Tennis gives you such a structure and when you get injured, or I imagine when you stop your career, it is really hard to feel like you’ve got a purpose,’ says Draper, when asked if he was surprised by Murray’s return to the game.
‘Andy probably wants that buzz again, to feel like he’s part of something big.
‘When I was a younger, I used to love a bit of training and then coming back to eat crisps all day and watch Netflix. But now I feel like I’ve got a goal and a purpose bigger than myself. I want to be busy the whole time. I want to be progressing.
Draper added that he was not surprised that Andy Murray has sought a return to tennis so soon after stepping away from the sport
Murray is set to join Djokovic’s coaching team for the for the Australian Open next month
‘So when I have days off, when I’m injured, I do find it incredibly difficult and I’ve started to understand why Andy struggled to leave the sport.
‘We’re just chasing that dopamine hit of winning and playing and traveling. It’s not real life. So when you go back to having not a lot on stuff, it’s like: I’ve got another six hours until the end of the day, what am I going to do? Watch some TV? It’s really difficult. So I’m definitely wired a little bit that way as well. I suppose the sport wires you to be that way.’
It is sad to hear Draper talk as though ‘real life’ holds little appeal for him. The way he describes his relationship with tennis is reminiscent of the language of addiction but that is the fanatical dedication which is required at the level to which he aspires.
If there is a chord that keeps Draper grounded and binds him to real life it is his family, and the ‘purpose bigger than myself’ he mentions is his work in the battle against Alzheimer’s. His grandmother Brenda was a formative influence on his tennis and now suffers from the disease. She is cared for by professionals and her husband Chris, who was courtside for his grandson’s win against Alcaraz at Queen’s in June.
‘My parents both played tennis to a decent level but that all comes from my grandma and her love for tennis being passed on,’ explains Draper.
‘Probably about 11 years ago now, she started to lose her memory, didn’t understand what was going on as much. It was hard to understand that as a 13-year-old. My grandad has been an absolute hero to keep on doing what he’s doing and put one foot in front of the other.’
After our chat, in the downstairs room of a Hammersmith pub, we all wrap up warm and join Draper, friends and family on a Memory Walk along the banks of the Thames to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, for which Draper is an ambassador.
‘It’s important for me, especially as my career progresses, to have more of a purpose outside tennis,’ says Draper. ‘It’s amazing that we can do this walk, have this moment to come together and just feel like I’m doing something apart from hitting a decent tennis ball.’
