The new British number one tennis player, Jack Draper, is hungry to learn from one of the best in business! He recently defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in a three-set thriller at the final of the Stuttgart Open. With this emphatic triumph, he has now become the youngest British number one since Andy Murray in 2009. Draper has always looked at Murray as his tennis idol while growing up. Now, he wishes to “lean on” Andy Murray a lot after the British tennis legend calls time in his career.

The 37-year-old tennis star has no intentions to “play much past the summer.” After learning his idol’s intentions, a light bulb went off in Draper’s head. He realized would have a chance to contact Murray frequently to ask him for opinions on certain aspects of his game. “I am definitely going to lean on Andy a lot and I am sure he will want to help me because he has always been very supportive of me,” Draper told Sky Sports.

For the British young gun, attempting to make his idol his mentor will be an easier task when Murray has hung up the racquet. “It is going to be much easier to tap into him when he has finished. As a tennis player, you don’t have time to think of anything but yourself. You are always thinking about what you can do better,” he further said.

Murray’s comments on not playing much past summer made the tennis world curious. Many wondered which tournament would Andy Murray choose to be his last. “Probably if I was going to finish my career I would rather finish at Wimbledon or an Olympic Games – to me that would probably be more fitting,” Andy Murray said in a recent interview.

Draper would certainly be looking forward to the two tournaments, not only to pounce at the chance to take mentorship from Murray but also to bid his rival farewell. There’s a great chance that Murray will take on the mentor role as he highly rates this young lad from London.

Andy Murray thinks Jack Draper has “bigger goals to aspire to” than just being Britain’s number one

Andy Murray believes he had very little impact on Jack Draper’s career. He thinks it’s the effort of his team, coaches, and everyone that he works with on a day-to-day basis that has brought him here. During the interview with SkySports, he also revealed that he is quite impressed with the hard work Draper has put in over the years.

Once, Murray even revealed that he’d love to coach players like Jack Draper. He doesn’t want him to stop here, as the former world number one believes Draper can stand where he once stood. Murray said, “Jack, I think, has bigger goals to aspire to than being British No 1. In my opinion, he can get right up to the top of the game, right to the top of the world rankings.“

Draper was likely overjoyed hearing Murray’s interest if he were to turn into a coach. He is currently ranked 31 in the men’s singles ranking, and with a possible mentorship from none other than Murray, he can climb even higher. Consistency will be his main requirement to stay on a top level. Can he repeat his idol’s feat and go beyond?