Andy Murray remains a key figure in tennis despite retiring from the sport after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jack Draper misses Murray, with the former now the British number one, a title the latter once held during his playing career.
Murray has been impressed by Draper, who is currently ranked sixth on the ATP Tour, having recently reached a career high of fourth.
The 23-year-old has three career titles to his name, with Murray having retired last summer with 46 titles won.
That includes three Grand Slam titles, with the Scot having also lost eight Grand Slam finals during his career.
Andy Murray names his ‘best men’s player of all time’
Five of those defeats were to Novak Djokovic, with the other three coming against fellow legend Roger Federer.
The trio helped form the ‘Big Four’ alongside Rafael Nadal, and Murray has now shared his verdict about being part of that select group.
“It’s always difficult, because I’m aware that what those guys have achieved is far greater than anything I achieved,” he told GQ.
“That being said, the reason why people started calling it “the big four” was because in every major event, whether it was Grand Slams or the Masters Series, two, three or four of us were always in the latter stage of events, competing to win the biggest tournaments.
“When I had my hip injury [in 2017], I was ranked No 1 in the world, and unfortunately afterwards I was not able to get back to where I was.
“But there was a period from when I was 22 to 29 when I was in the mix at most of the major events with those guys.
“I had some amazing matches with all of them. There was always a possibility that I could win, and in many ways tennis fans who watched that period knew it was a great time to play, because you had three of the best players of all time, playing in one period.
“I was the plus one, unfortunately. When I look back at the fact that to get over the line at Wimbledon, I had to beat the best men’s player of all time [Djokovic], I’m proud I managed to do that.”
Andy Murray shares his biggest takeaway from coaching Novak Djokovic for six months
Shortly after retiring, Murray shocked the tennis world by agreeing to link up with his former rival Djokovic.
The pair announced a coaching partnership ahead of the Australian Open, where the Serbian reached the semi-finals before retiring hurt.
Their partnership lasted until May, with the Scot now opening up on his shocking and exciting decision to work with Djokovic.
Asked what he learned from the six-month coaching spell, Murray said: “He’s got a team of people from different cultures and backgrounds – Serbian, Austrian, Spanish – so it was a different way of working.
“Learning to communicate well to everybody and how to deliver your message; how you speak to [Novak], trying to understand what makes him tick, what motivates him. As the lead coach, when something goes wrong, essentially it falls on you.
“You are having to coordinate everything – arranging the practice courts, making sure the rackets are ready – so it’s a bit more stressful throughout the day to make sure that things go smoothly. It was interesting, but definitely lots for me to work on.”
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