US Open: Andy Murray Withdrew, So Will The Pressure Be On Jack Draper To Produce Good Results In New York? | Tennis News

Former British No. 1 Tim Henman is backing youngster Jack Draper to break into the world top 10, provided he continues to focus on preparation and performance.

Draper became the UK’s new No. 1 after claiming his first career ATP title in Stuttgart earlier this summer, before shocking Carlos Alcaraz at the Queen’s Club.

It was a far cry from the situation he was in 12 months ago, when a shoulder problem ruled him out of the entire grass-court season.

The 22-year-old left-hander has also suffered from various physical problems in the past, but is now on the rise and is ranked in the world’s top 30.

With the US Open on the horizon, the British media and public will look to Draper as the natural replacement for Murray, after the 37-year-old announced the end of his career at the Paris Olympics.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure on Draper, but it’s important that Jack really focuses and continues to focus because it’s about his preparation and his performance. He’s trying to improve different aspects of his game,” Henman said. Vscek.

“He’s not there to be the next Andy Murray. He’s there to be Jack Draper and he’s improved so much.

“I think it’s more or less the same thing. She’s going in the right direction, she’s top 30 in the world, she’ll be seeded in New York, so hopefully she can get into the top 20 or top 10 in the not too distant future.”

Draper enjoys a fruitful working relationship with Cameron Norrie’s former coach James Trotman and two-time Australian Open semi-finalist Wayne Ferreira.

Henman believes winning his first title in Stuttgart will play a huge role in Draper’s confidence and belief ahead of the US Open, where the Briton reached the fourth round last year.

“The challenge with the tennis calendar is that within the calendar we really have four majors in the space of about three months. You’ve got the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics and now you’ve got the Olympics, so it’s very difficult to perform at your best in all those events, but to win your first title on the tour is a huge breakthrough,” Henman said.

“It’s great for your personal confidence because Jack hasn’t played as well as he would have liked in the last few events, but he can definitely turn things around on hard courts in America ahead of the US Open.”

Despite the title in Germany, Draper failed to capitalise on his winning momentum with early exits at Wimbledon and Montreal, but Henman is not worried about the results and believes they will come with time.

The four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist said: “He’s still learning his game and competing in the bigger and better tournaments, because he’s still building the foundation and the momentum.

“Last year he had some injuries and he didn’t play a full schedule, so I think just staying on the court and continuing to improve, sometimes it’s easy to get swept away by the results and other things, but if he continues to work hard, continues to work in the right areas, then the results will come because he’s such a good player.”

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