As Andy Murray departed the stage, forced to withdraw on the morning of his final Wimbledon singles match, up stepped Jack Draper, the new British No 1. And while a scrappy, often unconvincing five-set win over the qualifier Elias Ymer hardly felt like the triumphant start of a new era for British tennis at Wimbledon, it was reminiscent of something else. The Centre Court crowd had come for Murray – Draper said so himself – but still saw a display of heart and grit from the 22year-old. As Murray proved countless times during his golden years, success at Wimbledon is built on such qualities.
It may have been a fitting tribute to his idol, but as Draper thumped a final serve out wide on match point and smacked a ball high into the rafters on Centre Court, this was a victory that was met with more relief and frustration than outright celebration. Clearly, a fifth-set decider was not the plan for the 29th seed Draper, expected to dispatch an opponent ranked outside the world’s top 200 who had only played two tour-level matches this year. He will be aiming higher after returning to the second round, against the former British No 1 and Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norrie.
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