Jack Draper makes his feelings crystal clear on Andy Murray comparison

Jack Draper scraped through to the second round of the Australian Open after a grueling five-set win over Argentine Mariano Navone, winning 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Englishman took four hours to take the victory, battling against exhaustion to overcome a two-sets-to-one deficit.

Before the match, Draper quickly distanced himself from comparisons with fellow Brit Andy Murray, who has led his country's tennis for the last 15 years. Draper insists that he's his own man:

"I'm not trying to be the next Andy Murray. ... he's one of the greatest players there ever was and ever will be, and to put that level of pressure on myself, I just don't do it. I focus on achieving my own potential, whatever that looks like."

Jack Draper suffered similar exhaustion issues at the 2024 Australian Open, but before his first-round match this year, he told the PA News Agency that his preparations have been more thorough:

“This year I’ve really tried to do different things. Obviously I’m from a country where we’re inside a lot and it’s cold, and especially coming into a tournament like this where it is really hot, we don’t get a lot of that exposure.

"But I’ve been really trying to get that exposure, whether I was in the UK doing lots of heat sauna stuff and bikes in hot bubbles, and obviously coming out here two-and-a-half weeks before, that’s quite a lot of time to adapt. I’ve got a lot of heat training in and I feel good. I’ve been working hard on different techniques with my breathing."

At 23, Jack Draper is still a developing player, and based on the Navone match, he still has much to do to manage his performances in the heat. His potential is undoubted, though. That was evident in June 2024 at the Queens Club Championships when he took the scalp of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and reached the quarter-finals.

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Jack Draper has worked with Andy Murray, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic to prepare for Australian Open

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Jack Draper acknowledges that his pre-preparation for Melbourne was hampered somewhat by a hip issue, which forced him to manage his court time and schedule. But he still expects to go far in the tournament:

“I had to miss a fair bit of my pre-season, the time when I wanted to rebuild my body for this next coming year. It’s not ideal preparation.That’s what happens sometimes in sport, but the last two-and-a-half weeks have been really positive."

Jack Draper had the opportunity pre-tournament to work with Novak Djokovic, Murray's new charge, and Jannik Sinner, and feels the practice has sharpened his tools for an assault on the Melbourne title:

“It was amazing to be on court with Novak and Andy, especially. Jannik I hit with a couple of days ago. They just bring such a high quality to the practice court, as well. It’s really great to be able to spar with that kind of level of intensity and work ethic.

"I wouldn’t be competing if I didn’t feel like I can go 100 per cent. I definitely built a lot of belief at the end of last year. I feel confident coming here."

Jack Draper will next take on Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round on Wednesday.