Meet Britain's new Andy Murray who carries nation's expectations at Wimbledon

He drives a second-hand Polo, has a labradoodle called Ozzy and makes a mean chicken pesto pasta on the side. But, with a racket in hand, Jack Draper is no ordinary 23-year-old, and this summer carries the hopes of a nation as a genuine contender to win Wimbledon.

Yep, here we go again. As sure as night follows day, British tennis has replaced one men's star with another.

Just as Tim Henman's career fizzled out in the late 2000s, taking with it the dreams of a country starved of male success for six decades, a young Scot named Andy Murray was starting to make waves.

Little did we know that Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist and the best Brit since Fred Perry, was the warm-up act for arguably the greatest athlete this country has ever produced.

Murray led the nation on an emotional rollercoaster for the best part of 20 years, the high-point being that afternoon in 2013 when he ended the 77-year wait for a men's home Wimbledon winner. Even now, you sometimes have check YouTube to confirm that really happened.

Now, with Murray finally retired after giving in to that dodgy left hip, it's Draper's time. At 6ft 4 and with an AK-47 of a left-arm, the Londoner's natural talent has never been in question - he first marked our cards four years ago by taking a set off seven-time champ Novak Djokovic in his pomp.

A series of significant injuries delayed his progress, with hip, shoulder and stomach problems indicative of a player prone to frustrating niggles. But then came 2024, his breakout year.

Like the trains at Wimbledon station, Draper - nicknamed JD on tour - started slowly but quickly gathered momentum. He won his first tour title on the grass of Stuttgart, beating former SW19 finalist Matteo Berrettini, and backed it up by dumping Carlos Alcaraz out of Queen's. But it was at the US Open that he really put everyone on notice.

He breezed through to the semi-finals without dropping a set, much like his friend Emma Raducanu had done three years before - and we all know what happened there.

However, instead of Grand Slam glory, the Manchester United fan was brushed aside by Jannik Sinner and spent much of the match spewing all over the court - those pesky stomach issues rearing their head again.

Still, with £2 million and a host of ranking points banked, it was some year - and 2025 has been even better.

After reaching the Qatar Open final in February, Draper won his biggest title to date. A first Masters 1000 title - the circuit of nine events that sit just beneath Grand Slams in the pecking order - came at Indian Wells in March, before he then reached the final of another in Madrid, playing a brand of tennis that had commentators from all corners swooning.

"He's going to have many more opportunities at Grand Slams," Henman said despite Draper's fourth-round defeat to Alexander Bublik at the French Open.

"And I definitely think he's going to win one of these in the future."

John McEnroe, never shy to call a spade a spade, agreed. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't win multiple majors," the American legend said. "It is incredible how much he's improving and how great a player he's become."

Draper prefers to stay grounded - a testament to his mum Nicky, a former junior champion, dad Roger, a former LTA chairman.

"I'm not trying to be the next Andy Murray," he told The Times in January. "He's one of the greatest players there ever was and ever will be, and to put that level of pressure on myself, I just don't do it. I focus on achieving my own potential, whatever that looks like."

With Alcaraz and Sinner head and shoulders above anyone else in the men's game, and Djokovic still proving to be a constant threat at Grand Slams, Draper is cautious to talk himself up.

"I'm a long way behind those boys," he said of the pair who have won the last six Grand Slams between them.

"I still have lots to learn. They're probably a year or two years ahead of me and have obviously achieved a lot more. I do have a lot to do to catch up with them."

Modest to a tee, he is certainly British alright. With a huge serve, punishing forehand, and a sharp volley game, Draper is made for grass-court tennis.

His style has drawn comparisons with the great Goran Ivanisevic, a popular player in these parts who so memorably won the men's title as a wildcard in 2001 after three previous final defeats.

"I just stick with my own style and my own technique and just learn to be more consistent and make it better," Draper said.

Two fourth-round defeats in Grand Slams this season may lack the sparkle of that US Open run last year but they barely tell the whole story.

In Melbourne, Draper won three five-set matches, including a humdinger with local boy Thanasi Kokkinakis, in a campaign full of combativeness and heart.

At Roland Garros, he was taken to the brink by the veteran Gaël Monfils in the second round, but - against a partisan Parisian crowd and an inspired French legend - he won another five-set classic, before running out of steam down the line.

While his all-action game will draw in the crowds, it's his character off the court that will likely win them over.

In an era where many athletes are about as fun as a tax inspector, Draper has - pardon the pun - more strings to his racket.

A book-lover and cocktail-maker, he studied criminology through the Open University, has the intro to an Edgar Albert Guest poem tattooed on his arm, and even models for fashion houses on the side.

Anna Wintour - the editor-in-chief at Vogue - doesn't hang out with meatheads or journeymen and for years was in the box of the suave Roger Federer, perhaps the coolest athlete alive.

But, with Federer retired, Draper was invited to London Fashion Week last September and was sandwiched between the tennis superfan and Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson.

"She's really supportive," he said of the fashion mogul. "It was amazing to see that world."

Draper, an Oasis and Stone Roses fan, admits he made a conscious decision to broaden his horizons two years ago, moving out of the family home and setting up shop with brother and agent Ben and fellow player Paul Jubb in a flat in Putney.

He has learnt to cook, wash up and live independently - and says he now wants to learn more about money. Consequently, and probably not coincidentally, his tennis has thrived.

Some may suggest his off-court interests may detract from his on-court progress but make no mistake, tennis is his focus.

"He's doing incredible. He is Britain's next tennis superstar. There's no ifs or buts about that," said doubles legend Jamie Murray who, as Andy's big brother, knows a special player when he sees one.

"I think Jack's right in what he says. Maybe he is one or two years behind Sinner and Alcaraz in his development.

"But I think he can win Grand Slams. I absolutely think that."

Expectations, it appears, are high. So, just as Murray's retirement appeared to bring the curtain down on the pulsing heart-rates, nail-biting and sweaty palms of a nation united in hope, it's time to buy in to another swashbuckling talent that has come along.

We wouldn't want it any other way.

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.