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Jack Draper credits ‘champion’ Andy Murray after battling win over Elias Ymer at Wimbledon - ‘You were stuck with me’
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Published 02/07/2024 at 22:31 GMT+1
Jack Draper served up the classic nervy five-setter that is traditional for a British No. 1 at Wimbledon as he faced Elias Ymer in their first-round encounter on Tuesday. As the day's last match on Centre Court after Andy Murray pulled out of the singles draw, Draper entertained the fans with a gutsy marathon victory to set up a clash with fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in the second round.
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Jack Draper edged Sweden’s Elias Ymer following a gruelling five-set battle on Centre Court to reach the second round at the Wimbledon Championships.
The British No. 1 pleased fans at the All England Club as he came from behind to edge Ymer 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday.
Victory meant he sealed a place in the second round at Wimbledon for only the second time in his career and he is set to face a familiar opponent for a spot in the third round.
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After the match, Draper spoke of what it meant to play at Wimbledon as the nation's top-ranked player, which he described as "an honour".
He also credited Andy Murray, who was forced to pull out of the singles draw earlier on Tuesday which meant Draper's match against Ymer was promoted to Centre Court.
"Thinking of the number ones that came before me – Tim [Henman], Andy [Murray], Cam [Norrie]," Draper said.
"Just a word on Andy. I wouldn’t be here without Andy. So funny, so genuine, one of a kind and what a competitor, what a champion and thank you very much."
Draper missed out on the grass-court season last year due to a shoulder injury and admitted that he is enjoying making up for lost time, especially playing on Centre Court.
“I really enjoyed it," he said in his on-court interview after his victory.
"To play in front of you guys, I missed here last year, not being able to play. You probably wanted to see Andy out here but you were stuck with me instead."
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Draper revealed that the home crowd "massively" helped him achieve the hard-fought win and added: “You guys were incredible, I love playing in front of loads of people. Thank you, it really helped me out here.
"There were some nervy moments, I really appreciate the support, it helped me a lot."
With legend Murray having had to withdraw after not quite managing to regain sufficient fitness following surgery, much expectation was placed on Draper to electrify the fans at SW19.
After falling behind following the opener, the Brit rallied back into contention with back-to-back sets as he edged towards victory.
But his Swedish opponent battled back to take the match into a fifth set, which Draper expertly closed out for a valuable win.
He will take on Norrie in the second round on Thursday, July 4.
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Stream daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm UK time, as well as the two singles finals live on July 13 and 14, on discovery+
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