Feature
No longer the 'imposter': Draper seeks Queen's success in post-Murray era
Draper aims to become first British champion at Queen's Club since Murray in 2016.
It’s been nearly a decade since record five-time champion Andy Murray last lifted the trophy at the HSBC Championships, but the echoes of his legacy still resonate on The Queen's Club grass.
At this year’s edition of the ATP 500 event, Jack Draper will step onto the newly-named Andy Murray Arena with his sights set on carving his own history as the first British titlist since former World No. 1 Murray in 2016.
Draper arrives at The Queen's Club at a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings after an eye-catching ascent, highlighted by three ATP Tour titles. While his victory in Indian Wells in March marked his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy, it was his breakthrough triumph in Stuttgart 12 months ago that underscored his grass-court pedigree and cemented his status as British No. 1.
Fans in west London have already witnessed Draper’s potential at The Queen’s Club. Competing as a wild card in 2021, he upset third seed Jannik Sinner to record his first tour-level match win. Although he was forced to miss the 2023 grass swing due to a shoulder injury, Draper returned last year to seal another statement victory over then-defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
“I have gone through a lot in the last couple of years,” Draper said after his straight-sets win over Alcaraz. “Coming here two years ago, I had just broken the Top 100, I felt like a bit of an imposter at the tournament. I had been here when I was very young watching Andy play, and it was a completely new experience for me.
“Last year having to miss out on the grass really hurt, but I think it was a blessing in disguise. Ever since I came back from those injuries I have been really putting in great work.”
Despite those headline victories, Draper is yet to advance past the quarter-finals at the iconic event. But this year, the 23-year-old is no longer an imposter. With runs to the semi-finals at the US Open last year and to his biggest title yet in Indian Wells — where he toppled two-time defending champion Alcaraz en route — Draper has firmly established himself among the sport’s elite.
Yet for those well-placed to comment, Draper's rapid rise was less a surprise than an inevitability.
“Jack, I think, has bigger goals to aspire to than being British No. 1,” Murray said at Queen’s last year. “In my opinion, he can get right up to the top of the game, right to the top of the world rankings. He works really hard and I think grass is a brilliant surface for him. I think he’ll do really well over the years on the surface.”
Indeed, Draper’s ascent has not only been defined by results, but by resilience. Having overcome a string of physical setbacks earlier in his career, the Briton has redefined his approach, placing renewed emphasis on his conditioning. Draper competed in just four tournaments across the first three months of the year, but yielded a fourth-round finish at the Australian Open, a runner-up showing in Doha and a title run in Indian Wells that propelled him inside the Top 10 for the first time.
Draper then carried that momentum onto the clay, which was once considered his least natural surface, with an inspired run to the final at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. Despite falling short to Casper Ruud, it was a further signal of his growing adaptability and confidence.
Now, as he returns to home soil at The Queen’s Club, the second-seeded Draper is among the leading contenders for the crown. In pursuit of his first title at the tournament that helped inspire his dream, Draper aims to join a prestigious roll of champions that includes not only Murray, but other ATP No. 1 Club members Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, and Andy Roddick.
This editorial feature is courtesy of ATPTour.com.