Andy Murray delivers bold Jack Draper rankings verdict after young Brit’s breakthrough win

Andy Murray and Jack Draper

Andy Murray has proclaimed that Jack Draper can get “right to the top” of the world rankings after his young British compatriot won his maiden ATP title.

The three-time Grand Slam champion backed Draper to do “really well” on grass in his career and explained that the 22-year-old “genuinely loves the sport.”

Draper defeated Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final of the Stuttgart Open on Sunday for his first ATP Tour tournament triumph.

The Brit’s victory at the ATP 250 event saw him climb to a new career-high ranking of world No 31 and he also overtook Cameron Norrie to become the British No 1 for the first time.

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Draper will look to build on his strong start to the grass-court season when he begins his campaign at the Queen’s Club Championships against Mariano Navone today.

The 22-year-old is looking to become only the second British man after Murray to win the tournament in the Open Era.

Murray, who has won a record five titles at Queen’s, is also competing in what could be his final appearance at the ATP 500 tournament. The 37-year-old will face Alexei Popyrin in his opening match at Queen’s today.

In his pre-tournament press conference, Murray was full of praise for Draper as he spoke about his countryman’s triumph in Stuttgart.

“Jack, I think, has bigger goals to aspire to than being British No 1,” Murray said. “In my opinion, he can get right up to the top of the game, right to the top of the world rankings.

“He genuinely loves the sport. He is really into it, he works really hard and I think grass is a brilliant surface for him. I think he’ll do really well over the years on the surface.

“It’s amazing for him to win his first tournament and obviously I’m delighted for him. This year has been tricky for him and it could have looked a whole lot different as well, a lot more positive than it has been, because he’s lost a number of extremely close matches.

“You change a couple of those results and all of a sudden he’s up easily in the top 20 in the world. In my eyes, he’s definitely playing good enough to be right up there.”

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