Sir Andy Murray has expressed strong optimism regarding Jack Draper’s fitness and skills as the latter prepares for Wimbledon. Murray noted that Draper has been training on the court almost daily and described his tennis as “Jack is supposed to be playing in Eastbourne next week,”
Draper, who has seen his world ranking drop to No. 113 due to persistent injuries after reaching No. 4 last year, has not competed since the Barcelona Open in April. However, Murray, who has been mentoring the young player at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre for the past month, is hopeful about Draper’s recovery.
“He’s been training and getting ready for that. He’s been on the court most days for the last few weeks. “His tennis is bloody good. He’s really good. Obviously he’s had lots of issues the last year with various injuries. I feel like he’s starting to come out the other side of that now. The next step is getting on the match court and getting a consistent run of tournaments and weeks under him and building trust again in his body.” Murray stated at Queen’s Club. “He’s been training and getting ready for that. He’s been on the court most days for the last few weeks.
“I get to spend a decent amount of time with Jack,”
Despite struggling with knee and elbow injuries, Draper’s recent challenge has been a shoulder problem affecting his serve. Nevertheless, Murray has been impressed by Draper’s performance during their training sessions.
“I also believe a lot in his tennis. In the sessions I’ve done with him, I’ve been more impressed probably than what I expected. And I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him. “He’s a quick learner. He’s got very few holes in his game. He’s a more complete player than probably what I expected as well.” Murray remarked. “I really like Jack, and I wanted to help him when he asked if I could,”
“But I was quite clear about what I could and couldn’t do.”
Murray mentioned that while he might continue to assist Draper leading up to the US Open, his family commitments remain a priority. “I still want to be able to pick my kids up from school, drop them off at home,” said Murray, who previously coached Novak Djokovic for four months. “If that wasn’t something that worked for him, then that was also absolutely fine. But I said I’d still love to help you if you would like that. “He’s asked for me to help him over this next period. I’ve enjoyed being on court with him. We’ll see how the next few weeks pan out.”
“I didn’t find it weird when I was watching matches with Novak,” he continued. “The buildup to the matches and stuff I found quite hard. Because you need to get your communication with the player right. Making sure you’ve got the right courts booked, practice partners, balls, rackets, strategy. All of those sorts of things. You want that to go smoothly. And then once the player is out on the court, I found it quite easy.”
“It happens to me quite often,”
Murray has yet to coach Draper during a match but stated he felt comfortable in that role, having worked with Djokovic. “I’m used to it. It was maybe nerves, tiredness or the heat. I don’t know why, but it happens here and there. The physio gave me an anticoagulant, a tissue, and then a bit of Vaseline in the nose, and it stopped the bleeding.” he noted.
“It’s so special to be playing tennis back home in London where I grew up, it’s unbelievable. It’s the best result of my career. My first quarter-final in an ATP tournament. “It’s not easy. There are lots of ups and downs so I’m happy to get through. I can’t put too much pressure on myself.”
Meanwhile, at Queen’s Club, Britain’s Arthur Fery overcame a bloody nose that halted play for six minutes to defeat Adrian Mannarino, advancing to his first ATP quarter-final. The wild card, currently ranked 140th in the world, received treatment from a physiotherapist after experiencing significant bleeding from his left nostril.
After being administered an anticoagulant and having a tissue placed in his nose, Fery returned to the court to secure a 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over the 44th-ranked French player.
“I’m very happy with the win,” Fery admitted. “I thought it was very close to a faultless performance. I felt sharp from the very first point till the last.”
Following his victory, Fery, who was born in Sèvres, near Paris, to French parents and raised in London, declared the win to be the highlight of his career. After leaving a message on the TV cameras stating “It’s Coming Home,” Fery added: “It’s so special to be playing tennis back home in London where I grew up, it’s unbelievable. It’s the best result of my career. My first quarter-final in an ATP tournament.”
“It’s not easy. There are lots of ups and downs so I’m happy to get through. I can’t put too much pressure on myself.”
Fery is the sole British player remaining in the tournament, with the top seed Alex de Minaur from Australia still in contention after defeating Canadian Dennis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-1. “I’m very happy with the win,” De Minaur commented. “I thought it was very close to a faultless performance. I felt sharp from the very first point till the last.”
