Tim Henman has tipped Jack Draper to become a grand slam champion in the near future and expects him to rapidly break into the world’s top 10.
Draper, who faces Elias Ymer in the first round tomorrow, is seeded for a grand slam for the first time at Wimbledon having won his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart.
And Henman said his meteoric rise won’t stop there.
“I see him breaking into the top 10 in the near future and I see him as a future grand slam champion with the progress that he’s making, if he keeps doing the right things and keeps that hunger and desire,” said the former British No1.
“He’s got such a great attitude to the game so he should be competing for the best titles but there’s no pressure on him. It can take time to move up from futures and challengers to the main tour, then quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final a title as he has got.
“Next he’ll want to win an ATP 500 event, then a 1,000 and then a grand slam and there will be bumps in the road so he needs to be patient.”
Draper has taken a more aggressive approach in his tennis after his early demise at the French Open. Such a shift was rewarded with the Stuttgart title and an impressive victory over Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s.
But Henman argues his 22-year-old countryman will get better yet.
He said: “He’s always been an enormous talent but he’s had a few different types of injuries. But he deals with the big stage very well and you look at his game, and there’s still so much to improve on.
“His serving’s already improved massively in the last four to six weeks, he’s physically stronger and more resilient.
“I remember speaking to him after the Australian Open and he was learning how to deal with slams and best of five sets. He was almost getting fatigued mentally which was affecting him physically. He’s still very raw so it’s exciting to see where his game can go.”
