Jack Draper continues to be compared to Andy Murray, having played his compatriot twice in his career.
Draper and Murray are thought to have a strong relationship, which has continued since the latter retired from the sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
There has been a lot of pressure on the current world number 10 to match the achievements of his compatriot, and Murray has also backed Draper to challenge for majors.
While Draper looks to overcome the arm injury that has kept him out of action since the US Open, he has spoken about what it felt like to actually play against Murray.
Jack Draper says how he really felt about playing Andy Murray
Draper and Murray first found themselves on the opposite side of the courts to one another at the Battle of the Brits exhibition in 2022.
On that occasion, experience won out as Murray beat Draper, 6-2 1-6 12-10, in a tight-fought match in Aberdeen.
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However, in their only meeting on the ATP Tour, Draper beat Murray at Indian Wells, the tournament where he won the title earlier this year.
When appearing on The Tennis Mentor YouTube channel, Draper was asked questions by children, including one about what it is like to play against a friend like Murray.
Draper recalled both of their two matches, and admitted that he is still in awe of Murray to this day.
“I have played Andy Murray,” answered Draper. “I played him at Indian Wells in 2023 and I also played him at an exhibition in Scotland, which was like Scotland vs England, and I’ve actually trained with him many, many times in the United Kingdom.
“Amazing guy and someone I’ve learnt so much from and yeah I was just in awe of him at the start, I’m still in awe of him now but obviously that plays off the more you get to know someone and the more hopefully they become someone that you’re going to play against.
“I suppose he is a friend, but if I was saying someone more my own age then I’d say it is always a difficult one, because you care so much about playing someone you know and maybe someone from the same country, but you’ve just got to treat it like every other match.
“You’ve got to try and be as respectful as possible, and know that whatever you’re feeling, they’ll be feeling it too. So it is important to just not worry too much, go out and do your thing and you’re still going to be friends at the end of it, it’s not the end of the world.”
Jack Draper reveals the tactic he learned from Andy Murray
While they were sometimes opponents, Murray is also a big supporter of Draper’s, and would be open to giving advice to his younger compatriot.
Draper, who plays left-handed, revealed one of the tips Murray gave him referred to how to combat the serve of a left-handed player, which he still uses to this day.
“One good tip when playing a leftie, and I actually learnt this from Andy Murray, is the thing you struggle most with against lefties is the return, right?” began Draper.
“So, if you’re on the deuce side you might start a bit more into that centre line, so you’re giving them less of an angle with their sliders and psychologically you might feel that you’ve left the other side of the box open, but you’re forcing them to hit a flat serve, which they don’t want to do.
“So, I’d say cover a little bit of that side of the court that you’re leaving open for slice.”
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Improvements in Draper’s game have enabled him to rise to a career-high ranking of world number four this year.
Although he has faced some setbacks since reaching that peak, Draper is expected to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner next year.
Draper is scheduled to begin his 2026 season at the United Cup, representing Great Britain alongside Emma Raducanu.
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