"I wouldn't be here without Andy Murray" - Jack Draper pays tribute to two-time Wimbledon champion after replacing him on Centre Court to win 1R
Following Andy Murray's withdrawal from the singles event at Wimbledon, British No. 1 Jack Draper's first-round match was moved to Centre Court. The 22-year-old paid tribute to Murray after his hard-fought win.
Murray was set to participate in Wimbledon's singles event for the final time this year. However, not long before his first-round match against Tomas Machac on Centre Court, Murray's team announced his withdrawal from the event.
The 37-year-old underwent back surgery on June 22 and has not yet recovered enough to participate in the singles event. However, he is still in contention to play the men's doubles event with his brother Jamie.
With Murray's withdrawal, Draper's match which was supposed to be played on Court 2, was shifted to Centre Court. The young Englishman has played on the storied court before in 2021 when he faced Novak Djokovic. However, this time it was different.
He was a seeded player at a Grand Slam for the first time and was expected to win against qualifier Elias Ymer. Draper faced scares throughout the match from the Swedish player but scraped through 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and 17 minutes.
After the match, Draper paid tribute to Murray while also jokingly adding that the crowd had to settle for him even though they expected to watch Murray play.
"I wouldn’t be here without Andy. He's an incredible guy off the court. So funny, so genuine, one of a kind and what a competitor, what a champion and thank you very much," Draper said during his on-court interview.
"I really enjoyed it. To play in front of you guys, I missed here last year, not being able to play. You probably wanted to see Andy out here but you were stuck with me instead," he added.
Jack Draper aims to become a 'great player' like Andy Murray
Andy Murray has had an exemplary career so far. He is a three-time Grand Slam winner and has even won the Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016.
The former World No. 1 also made himself part of the 'Big 3' debate in ATP involving Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer to make it 'Big 4'. Murray's overall head-to-head record against Federer stands at 11-14, against Djokovic at 11-25, and against Nadal at 7-17.
Praising Andy Murray's career, Draper hoped to become a 'great player' like him and said,
“It’s obviously unbelievable. He’s won here a couple times. He’s been part of that Big Four era who were just winning constantly, constantly. But if I just keep on improving, keep on doing my best, I don’t see why I can’t be a great player like Andy has been,” Draper said during his on-court interview.
Draper has set up an enticing second-round clash against fellow Brit Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon. The pair will face off on Thursday, July 4.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray and Jamie Murray will take on the Australian pair of John Peers and Rinky Hijikata in the men's doubles first round.