Former British No. 1 Tim Henman has backed youngster Jack Draper to break into the world top 10 if he continues to focus on his preparation and performance.
Draper won his maiden ATP Tour title in Stuttgart this summer before defeating Carlos Alcaraz at The Queen's Club to become the new British No. 1.
It was a huge change from 12 months ago when a shoulder injury sidelined him for an entire grass-court season.
The 22-year-old left-handed player has struggled with a number of physical ailments in the past, but is now on an upward trajectory and is ranked inside the world's top 30.
As the US Open approaches, the British press and public are looking to Draper as a natural replacement for the 37-year-old Murray, whose career ended at the Paris Olympics.
“I don’t think there’s that much pressure on Draper, but it’s important for Jack to really focus and stay focused because it’s about his preparation and his performance. He wants to improve other aspects of his game,” Henman said. Sky Sports.
“He's not there to be the new Andy Murray. He's there to be the Jack Draper and he's improved enormously.
“I think it's more like that. He's moving in the right direction, he's in the top 30 in the world, he'll be seeded in New York, so hopefully he can get into the top 20 and top 10 soon.”
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Looking back at Draper's incredible victory story at the Stuttgart Open
Draper has successful working relationships with Cameron Norrie's former coach James Trautman and two-time Australian Open semi-finalist Wayne Pereira.
And Henman believes that winning his maiden title in Stuttgart will go a long way toward boosting Draper's confidence and belief, having reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open last year.
“The challenge with the tennis calendar is that you have four majors in the span of about three months. You’ve got the French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics and now the Olympics, so it’s very difficult to peak at all of those events, but to win your first title on tour is a huge breakthrough,” Henman said.
“Jack hasn't been as good as he'd like in the last few tournaments, but it'll be a huge boost for his personal confidence as he's definitely capable of turning things around in the US going into the US Open.”
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Draper said he knew his time was coming after winning his first ATP title and becoming Britain's No. 1.
Draper failed to build on his winning streak, suffering early exits at Wimbledon and Montreal despite winning in Germany. But Henman is not worried about the result and believes he will improve over time.
The four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist said: “He's still learning his game and competing in the biggest and best tournaments because he's still building his foundation and momentum.
“He was injured last year and didn't play a full schedule, so I think he just needs to go out there and continue to improve. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in results and other things, but if he keeps working hard and working on the right areas, the results will come because he's a really good player.”
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Draper said he was “not at the level” he wanted to be before competing in the Madrid Open earlier this year.
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