3 days ago
Breathing coach and Team Murray driving Jack Draper's bid for glory
If Jack Draper progresses through the Wimbledon draw over the next fortnight, prepare for plenty of camera shots of those sitting in the Centre Court player box above one of the corner scoreboards.
Among the many traditions of this historic tournament are replays showing both the joy and angst of the watching team members and family of British players in action — a familiar sight for the many viewers who followed the rollercoaster ride of Andy Murray through the years at the All England Club.
Sitting in the Draper box, willing him on, will be his fitness trainer Matt Little and physio Shane Annun, two trusted lieutenants of Murray who have stepped forward into a new era by joining the Draper coaching staff this season.
It is a shrewd move by Draper that has already worked wonders. Those of us who see the 23-year-old regularly around the world on tour can testify to the claim last month by Alexander Bublik, the world No31 from Kazakhstan, that his upper body has grown in strength and size.
'Jack, for me, is insane,' Bublik said during the French Open. 'I saw him on the first day here and I am like, 'Are you getting ready for UFC?' '
Until this year, Draper's body was considered a weakness that was not up to the standards of this rigorous sport. His retirement from the fourth round of the Australian Open against Carlos Alcaraz was remarkably his 16th as a professional, a run that also included his first ATP Tour match, at the 2021 Miami Open.
This is not at all to say that those who worked with Draper in the past did not know what they were doing. Rather, it was a realisation by the player himself that significant improvements in his physicality were needed if he is to be able to compete at the very top of the game with the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The skills and experience of his two new team members perfectly fit the bill. Little is highly regarded for his 17 years of work from 2007 with Murray, turning a skinny Scottish teenager into an athlete who time and time again could back his strength and stamina to prevail over the course of five sets. The fact that Murray retained Little's services for so long is testament to the appreciation he had for him.
Annun emerged midway through Murray's career, in 2015, but was there for arguably the most consistent period in which he climbed to world No1 in 2016. Annun's services were particularly important for a long run of wins — Murray played 87 matches in 2016, putting together a unbeaten streak of 23 at the end of the season — in which his recovery was key in between. He was also a close companion for Murray during his hip troubles, regularly visiting him at home in Surrey.
'Honestly, as people they are amazing,' Leon Smith, the Great Britain Davis Cup captain who often sat in Murray's box, says. 'If you're going to travel with someone and trust someone, it helps that they're good people and proper good human beings. That is the first thing: hard workers with no egos.
'The second thing is experience, and it's not just experience in their own trade. Shane is a very good physio and Matt was a very good strength and conditioning coach, but they also have a long skin in the game of tennis and understand the nuances of it.
'They understand the tour, the flow of the month, the flow of the week, the flow of the tournament and what that is like to work with the player when you have to got to have a lot of adaptability and flexibility. They know from their years with Andy what it feels like.'
Crucially, at this unique time of year for British players on home soil, Little and Annun also know the pressures that Wimbledon brings. Draper has already participated in three championships — two second-round appearances in 2022 and 2024 rank as his best so far — but this is the first time he has come here as a serious contender, at a seeding of No4. It is a shrewd move, then, to have two people in your camp who have been there and done it before.
'This is the bit that is really important,' Smith says. 'They understand what it feels like, which is a key thing. If Jack is challenging for the major events, they understand how to act around him, what to say, what not to say, and how to deal with the whole set-up in this situation.'
Draper's lead coach may not have worked with Murray, but he gained an insight last year into pressure on the sport's biggest stages when he guided Draper to the semi-finals of the US Open. James Trotman, who won the 1995 Wimbledon junior doubles with Martin Lee, is a highly respected coach who started working full-time with Draper in 2021.
Trotman's profile grew at Flushing Meadows last year when he could be heard on several occasions delivering mid-match instructions to Draper. Picked up on the courtside microphones, viewers at home seemed particularly impressed with the calm yet direct manner in which Trotman would advise his charge.
'I have watched so much tennis on the tour and sat in so many player boxes,' Smith says. 'Trots is without a doubt one of the best in-match coaches. Maybe that comes from his deep understanding and relationships with Jack, but he knows what to say and it becomes even more relevant in that moment.
'Trots really is very vocal during the matches but at the the right time. You can see how Jack completely trusts him. The dialogue is really good tactically but it is also about how to deal with Jack as a person and how he's feeling on the court. Trots is as good as I've seen in those environments.'
Another lesser-known team member was spotted at the All England Club last week. As Draper sat down in his courtside chair during a practice on No1 Court, he was approached by Ann Coxhead, a breathing coach whom he employed last year after having issues with his sinuses. He has since largely shifted his breathing from his mouth to his nose, improving his oxygen intake as a result.
'It is a bit like having a physio or a strength and conditioning coach,' Draper explained on Saturday. 'It was important for me in tennis where there's such small margins, such small percentages.
'The work I've done with her has been invaluable. It's been a real asset to my tennis. I'm still a work in progress with it, but definitely my physicality and my general well-being on the court has improved.'
Draper's family members will also be in attendance. His agent is his older brother Ben, 26, a former player on the American college circuit who transitioned into sports management with IMG. Their mother, Nicky, regularly sits in the box, while their father Roger, who has separated from Nicky, often watches from elsewhere in the arena.
The draw was not kind for Draper — the 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic is a potential second-round opponent, followed by his Roland Garros last-16 conqueror Bublik in the third round — but first there is the task on Tuesday of beating Sebastián Báez, the world No38 from Argentina, to focus on. The vast majority of the 15,000-capacity crowd on Centre Court will be on his side.
'It's a great chance to hopefully show the British public what I'm able to do on a tennis court and the type of personality I am,' Draper said. 'At Wimbledon especially, it's a great chance to get the crowd involved and that's a real asset against these players.'
