It was two years ago when Cameron Norrie gathered in front of reporters in Miami with a proclamation that Jack Draper was heading right for the very top.
Norrie, then British No 1, had just beaten a 20-year-old Draper 7-6, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Miami Open.
Draper was a top 150 player then, making his name slowly but surely on the second tier Challenger circuit.
But having practised together and played against each other, Norrie was in absolutely no doubt that Draper was destined for superstardom at the top of the men’s game.
‘To me I think he’s future top 10 player,’ Norrie said on that balmy evening in Miami.
Jack Draper is the talk of British tennis having arrived at Wimbledon as British men’s No 1
Cameron Norrie (right) was the previous incumbent of that title and he plays Draper next
‘His game is there, he’s got everything, it’s just a matter of playing week in, week out and gaining experience.
‘He’s still super young and he’s hitting the ball, hitting the first serve much bigger than me, and he’s moving super aggressively. Yeah, if he enjoys the travel, enjoys the tennis, everything, I think he’s going to be top 10.’
On Thursday they meet on No 1 court with Draper the British No 1 and Norrie the player eager to land the ‘scalp’ for want of a better word.
Draper’s work out of the spotlight of a nation has built him to this point where he is able to slug it out with the game’s greatest; beating Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s underlined that.
Close friends with Emma Raducanu, another superstar young Brit with huge marketing potential, Draper has long been viewed in tennis circles as the heir to Andy Murray’s throne.
Even with Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie both enjoying spells as British No 1 there are those in the tennis community who had Draper circled as the real deal, the one who can take the torch and not get burned.
It was Greg Rusedski who, three years ago, boldly mooted Draper as Murray’s ‘heir apparent’.
The pair are very good friends and will do battle on Court No 1 for a place in the third round
Norrie tipped Draper to be a top 10 player when he was impressing as a 20-year-old (pictured)
Draper has heard all the noise, and will have been well aware of the criticism that would have come his way had he fallen in round one on Centre Court on Tuesday. It speaks volumes that he is eager to embrace the pressure, rather than shy away from it.
‘I wouldn’t be here without Andy,’ Draper said. ‘He is an incredible guy off the court, so funny, so genuine, one of a kind. And what a competitor – and what a champion. I think it’s going to be tough to emulate what Andy’s achieved.
‘It’s obviously unbelievable. He’s won here a couple times. He’s been part of that Big Four era who were just winning constantly, constantly.
‘But if I just keep on improving, keep on doing my best, I don’t see why I can’t be a great player like Andy has been.’
Draper has the swagger that Norrie arguably lacks; a main character energy that befits the game’s best players.
Norrie suffered a nightmare end to 2023 and is now looking to build his game back up
He isn’t satisfied at world No 26 – Norrie is down at world No 42 these days – and if he is to emulate Murray and establish himself as one of Britain’s greats, he will need to go all the way in Slams and he knows it.
Nike and Vodafone are among his sponsors, while Draper has proven a hit as a part-time model following in the footsteps of the likes of Matteo Berrettini and world No 1 Jannik Sinner, a sensation for Gucci.
And yet for all the fanfare around Draper, he may well be wise to look at Norrie and see how quickly things can change, how quickly people can move on and write you off.
Norrie goes into this Battle of Britain as the underdog in a match up where he has won both previous encounters.
Norrie, six years Draper’s senior, shared a Tatler magazine cover with his fellow Brit a year ago but has since seen his stock, and his ranking, falter.
Burn-out was really hurting Norrie towards the back end of 2023. Worn down by the grind of a long season, the then-British No 1 slipped from eighth in the world rankings in October to 18th at the end of the 2023 season. He lost nine of his last 11 matches in a dismal end to the year.
Further struggles followed, as Draper, a close friend, soared, to the point they swapped places in the national rankings.
‘He’s a really good friend of mine,’ Norrie, speaking on court earlier this week before the match-up was confirmed, said of Draper.
The pressure is on Draper but it is something he is keen to embrace en route to greatness
‘We’ve practised together so many times and we always have high-level practices and we always have positive energy
‘I always want him to do well. I would love to play him at Wimbledon, it would be a special one.’
This is a big tournament for Norrie and having brushed aside a first round opponent playing his first tour-level match on grass, his eyes are now locked on his ‘good friend’.
Norrie knows just how quickly poor form can turn into top form and Thursday is a chance to land a blow on Draper.
As for the new king of British tennis, always know being hunted is much more draining than being the hunter. Only the best, like Andy Murray did impeccably for years, survive.
