The king is dead. Long live the ki … well, not entirely. Not yet. But on the day that Andy Murray waved a pained goodbye to his singles career at Wimbledon, Jack Draper stepped in to give the Centre Court crowd – and a primetime BBC audience – a familiar sensation: being put through an emotional wringer by a British No 1 tennis player.
There were loud cries of “Come on Jack” before every big point in his five-set mini epic against Elias Ymer, as well as a fist pump eerily reminiscent of Murray. To further add to the sense of the torch being passed, the 22-year-old Draper even wore a cap when the shadows began to creep across the court.
