Jack Draper becomes highest Wimbledon seed since Andy Murray but two-time champ ‘refuses to answer questions about him'

The Sun

4 hours ago

JACK DRAPER can shower with the big boys now as he secured a top-four seeding spot at Wimbledon.
England's top hope fought off American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 to reach the Queen's semi-finals for the first time.
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The Sutton star is on collision course with Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's final as the Spanish hero eliminated French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4 – his record 16th win in a row.
Yet Draper – who ends this week as world No 4 after moving up two spots – will avoid Alcaraz and world No 1 Jannik Sinner until at least the semi-finals on SW19 Centre Court.
And he can enjoy the comforts of washing in the exclusive Gentlemen's Members' Dressing Room, one of the perks of being an elite player.
Draper – Britain's highest Wimbledon seed since defending champion Andy Murray was top guy in 2017 – said: 'This means the world to me.
'This is a definite huge step for me. I remember last year going into the grass ranked around 40.
'To be inside the top-four come Wimbledon one year around, that's massive progress.
'A testament to my team, the dedication I have had for tennis, the work I have put in on a daily basis.
'You know, I live and breathe the sport and I'm obsessed with progressing.
'I'm obsessed with becoming the player that I want to become all the time and achieve the things I want to.
'The top-16 seeds get, you know, a better changing room. There's some tournaments where it's top-eight seeds, in the Masters 1000s I've had this year.
'Nothing is different apart from the fact that maybe, potentially I won't see Alcaraz or Sinner in the quarters – if I make it there.'
Meanwhile, Murray won't be stepping into TV punditry work just yet – as he does not want to annoy Jack Draper with his words.
Muzza, 38, hated it when he was playing and former British tennis stars, who had nowhere near his same level of ability or talent, gave him advice.
Now retired and at a loose end following the dissolution of his coaching gig with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the Scotsman could earn decent money working for the BBC.
But the two-time Wimbledon singles champion is conscious of appearing in front of millions and saying something that current British No 1 Draper, 23, disagrees with.
Asked by GQ magazine if he feels the need to stay in the public eye, Murray replied: 'I'm not thinking daily that I need to tweet something or somehow remain relevant.
'That's why I'm much more interested in the idea of coaching because I feel like I'd actually really be helping someone.
'Whereas with punditry, it can be harmful. If I go and work at, let's say Wimbledon, you start getting asked questions about British players like Jack Draper.
'I know when the British ex–tennis players would talk about my tennis and what I should be doing.
'Because you respect them, you listen to what they're saying – but it's not always the same as what your coach is telling you.
'What the pundits are saying could be wrong. They're not right all the time, and when you're young, it's quite conflicting.
'So I'd be more inclined to do coaching, because I think punditry is quite an easy gig. You can just throw stuff out there.
"People love it if it's a bit controversial, but you don't actually have any skin in the game.'
On an extremely hot day, Draper, 23, will try to out-ace Czech speedster Jiri Lehecka, who crushed the spirit of British star Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2 in the opening quarter-final.
Dressed in all-black clothes, the black-haired Scotsman injured his arm returning one 138mph ace.
And overall he served TEN double faults as his service game malfunctioned due to nerves and anxiety.
Fearnley, 23, moaned: 'He was serving great. I was serving terrible. At this level you can't give away that many free points.'
BBC's Wimbledon TV comms team will be revealed on Monday.