US Open 2024: Jack Draper follows in Andy Murray’s footsteps

He misses Andy Murray’s smelly shoes

Jack Draper stormed into the semifinals of the US Open without losing a set. The 22-year-old can really party and has a sense of humor. He just can’t sing.

Published today at 16:30

Like an eagle whipping Jack Draper in the semi-finals. Tournament favorite Jannik Sinner is now waiting for him.

Photo: Justin Lane (Keystone/EPA)

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Jack Draper is an excellent young British tennis player. But it was probably this video that really made him known to the international public. In September 2023, Andy Murray released a 19-second clip of him chauffeuring his young colleague back to London late one night after the Davis Cup in Manchester. Draper had already had a few beers too many, drank another one and sang along to the iconic hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Scottish band The Proclaimers in the car. Murray’s reaction: He stuck his middle finger up at the camera.

“The youngsters today,” wrote the doyen of British tennis with a wink, “three and a half hours of it on the way home.” The clip does not present Draper in a particularly favorable light, singing drunkenly in his floppy hat and barely hitting the notes. But he did not hold it against Murray for releasing the video. I am the opposite. “Andy is my idol. I would have been over the moon if I had known at the age of ten that I would one day be driving with him.”

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And Draper was keen to emphasise that the picky Scot liked his choice of music. He believes Murray would give him 7.5 out of 10. Only his singing seemed to irritate him a little.

Murray’s tearful farewell

At Wimbledon, Murray retired with 37 His tearful farewell from the Grand Slam stageHis back no longer allows him to play in singles, and in doubles he and his brother Jamie were eliminated in the first round and were celebrated in a moving ceremony. Draper stood at the edge of Centre Court and applauded, along with tennis greats such as John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Novak Djokovic. Now the 22-year-old from Sutton in south London has taken over the baton.

At the US Open, Draper (ATP 25) stormed through the semifinals against Jannik Sinner (1) without losing a set. The nimble Australian Alex de Minaur (10) was also no match for his powerful game. Draper seems to feel at home in New York, having already played in the round of 16 here in 2023, which he then lost to the Russian Andrei Rublev. Otherwise, the left-hander has never made it past the second round of Grand Slams before. In this sense, his storming through the semifinals is already a surprise.

His victory over Alcaraz raised hopes

Plagued by injuries and not yet fully trained, the powerful 1.93-meter giant needed time to work his way up the professional tour. In 2018, at the age of 16, he reached the final of the junior tournament in Wimbledon, in 2022 he made his breakthrough on the professional tour, this summer he won the grass tournament in Stuttgart and beat Carlos Alcaraz at the Queen’s Club. Now he is astonishing at the US Open and reminds us of the Brit Emma Raducanu, who On the way to the title in 2021 did not make a sentence.

Raducanu has never been able to repeat this success since then, and has divided the British public. At Wimbledon, she had the mixed doubles match with Murray placed at short notice, and in New York, some people were offended when she said she didn’t miss the Scot on the tour. “It doesn’t feel any different without him.” Tennis is merciless in this respect. No matter who you are, it just keeps going. Of course, I saw him win this tournament once. But everything moves so quickly. The next day, it’s all water under the bridge again.” Just like Raducanu’s first-round defeat in New York.

Draper was more empathetic than Raducanu: “Of course I miss Andy,” he said. “Cheers to him. What an incredible career he had. I miss him in the dressing room. I miss sitting next to his smelly shoes and all his smelly clothes. Andy is a legend. If I have half as good a career as he did, then I’ll be a happy man.”

That is already an ambitious target. Murray won three Grand Slam doubles, two Olympic gold medals in singles and was number 1 for 41 weeks. At the US Open, Draper is now trying to follow in the footsteps of the Scotsman with the smelly shoes.

Simon Graf is deputy head of the sports department and has been reporting on ice hockey and tennis since 1994. He studied history and German at the University of Zurich and has written several sports books. His latest is “Inspiration Federer”.More info@SimonGraf1

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topicnews · September 5, 2024

US Open 2024: Jack Draper follows in Andy Murray’s footsteps

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