Jack Draper can make it a golden summer

All things considered, Jack Draper’s grass-court season beginning in the Andy Murray Arena is a little too on the nose.

Whether he likes it or not, everything Draper does is in an arena that Murray, the father, son and ­cantankerous uncle of 21st-century British tennis, defined and enhanced.

And yet, at 23 and as the world No 4, Draper is on the precipice of escaping Murray’s long shadow, with the raw materials to foster a level of global fame his forebear never aspired to.

The model good looks and private school charm – even if he did once say his dream dinner party guests would be Donald Trump, Conor McGregor and Jimmy Carr – combine with an almost flawless all-round game, particularly suited to grass.

Challenged by only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he is ­perhaps the form player in men’s tennis, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells and reaching the final in Madrid on clay, a surface on which he won 12 of his 16 matches in 2025. After his first title in Stuttgart last summer and the run to the US Open semi-finals, there is no question around his potential. Less certain is his ability to realise it.

The halcyon vision is that this becomes the summer Draper ­establishes himself as an era-­defining talent and national darling. A deep Wimbledon run might well ­trigger that – Cameron Norrie’s 2022 semi-final is the only time a Brit has made it past the fourth round since 2017. Winning Queen’s next weekend certainly wouldn’t hurt – Murray won it both years he then went on to ­conquer Wimbledon.

Second-favourite and second seed, Draper has been drawn against Jenson Brooksby in the first round, with world No 7 Taylor Fritz the most obvious obstacle between him and the final. Draper has won their past two matches, beating Fritz in straight sets at Indian Wells.

This is probably the crucial clash of the tournament, the two strongest contenders for the fourth seed spot at Wimbledon and a significantly kinder draw, behind Sinner, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.

Draper is one of five Brits in the main draw, alongside Jacob Fearnley, Norrie, Billy Harris and Dan Evans. A childhood friend, Fearnley could do Draper a favour by eliminating Fritz in their potential second-round match.

Fearnley has now snuck into the top 50, from 525 a year ago, slightly ahead of the reborn Norrie at 60.

Both have the sort of upstart energy to inspire charges at Queen’s and Wimbledon. So much of the conversation around Draper focuses on his ­ability to breach the top two, to make Sinner and Alcaraz’s imminent duopoly a ­triumvirate, ignoring just how dramatic his recent improvement has been. Change and improvement this rapid brings mental and ­emotional strain.

Allowing him to secure his foundations as a top-five player, to appreciate what we have without ­constantly demanding more, could be crucial to letting him to take that step.

“I still think I’m a long way behind those boys,” Draper said. “I still have lots to learn. They’re ­probably a year, two years ahead of me and have ­obviously achieved a lot more, with a lot more experience. I do have a lot to do to catch up with them, in all honesty.

“My level is getting better all the time but it’s not just the tennis. It’s the consistency of what they’re doing. Even though I’ve been more consistent, it’s doing it when it matters, and these are the tournaments where it matters. I’m working hard, I’m doing the right things and we’ll see.”

Photograph by Dan Istitene/Getty Images