British top star Jack Draper wants to follow in Andy Murray’s big footsteps – even though they often caused unrest in the dressing room in the past.
Life after Murray really begins on Monday with the start of the US Open, the first Grand Slam since the Scot ended his dazzling career.
The absence of the three-time Grand Slam winner leaves a huge gap in British tennis, but at 22, Draper is the best hope to keep the flag flying.
“It feels kind of weird not having Andy here in the dressing room with his rancid, smelly shoes lying next to me,” Draper said before his first-round match against Zhang Zhizhen on Tuesday.
“Andy’s shoes were always drying next to me, with his wedding ring on them and things like that.
“I miss his presence a lot. I think it’s important that I obviously feel the responsibility to play really good tennis and be the British number one.”
“I miss Andy, but of course things like this have to end and I hope that I and the other players can move on from here.
“I will miss the moments when you are in the dressing room before games and someone as great as Andy is sitting next to you.
“It’s crazy to sit next to one of your idols from your younger years and then not having them here anymore is of course difficult.”
While Emma Raducanu described Murray as “old snow” in the run-up to the tournament, Katie Boulter insists that the 37-year-old’s retirement will leave a big gap.
“He’s been so firmly established in the British tennis system for so long, he’s kind of the one who keeps us all going,” she said.
“He’s been there the whole time and I don’t take that for granted. I think everything he’s done for us is incredible. I think it’s taken British tennis to a new level and inspired so many kids.
“There will always be a gap in British tennis and I think there will be a lot of people who will fill it and hopefully I can be one of them.”
Meanwhile, Draper has spoken about how upset he was at the reaction to the controversy surrounding his match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati last week.
Draper was accused of cheating when it looked like he had hit the ball towards the net into the ground before it flew over it. On social media, both current and former players joined in the debate.
“I think it’s hard to stay away from it,” he said. “I’ve always considered myself an honest and good person.”
“Forget tennis – it’s one of the most important things in my life. When you see something like that and see people talking negatively about you for the first time – and questioning your integrity and things like that – it’s obviously hard to take.
“I don’t blame people for doing this. If you look at the slow motion from the side, you can see very clearly that it is an illegal shot. There is no doubt about that.
“But when you’re in the moment and you’re serving outside and the guy hits a 95-mile-per-hour ball at your feet, you just put the racket down and I don’t know what happened.
“I thought about it non-stop for four days. It really disturbed me.
“I think anyone would be lying if they said it wouldn’t hurt them to read a lot of comments saying, ‘You’re a fraud,’ ‘You’re a liar,’ and ‘I would have done this, and I would have done that.'”
“In a situation like this, it’s hard to know what to do, but that’s a good thing because it’s my first experience with negativity and criticism, and that’s all part of being a top athlete.
“People questioned my integrity, which is fine, but it definitely hurt me.”
