Draper’s idol Andy Murray, long the face of British men’s tennis, put down his racket for good after the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Draper has no illusions as to how high two-time Olympic champion Murray’s bar was and isn’t about to anoint himself as the three-time major winner’s successor just yet. But he’s determined to give it a run for his money.

Asked if he was prepared to fill Murray’s shoes, Draper said of the 37-year-old Scotsman, “It’s a hard question because obviously Andy, in my opinion, is one of the greatest players of all time.

“He’s been in an era with Novak (Djokovic), (Roger) Federer, and (Rafael) Nadal and I think to try and emulate what he’s done, for me that would be unrealistic.

“I’ll work hard and I’ll do my best, everything possible, to achieve my potential. Whatever that looks like, that may be as well as Andy or it might be nowhere near as well as Andy.

“But the one thing I know is that I’ll give my all and I’ll try my best. I’m incredibly grateful to have a legend in Andy to look up to since a young age. I think what he’s achieved in the game is legendary so we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”

Reaching the last four of the US Open has emboldened Draper, who, while not guaranteeing a Grand Slam title, can certainly smell one now.

As the tour swings through Asia down the stretch, he has an outside shot at qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, contested by the world’s top eight players. Draper is currently 18th in men’s singles.

“I think it’s been stepping stones for me,” he said. “I got injured a couple of years running and I didn’t really get to play an awful lot of tournaments and I didn’t get to be a tennis player as in traveling the world week in, week out and experience all these things.

“So a lot of things – even though my name’s been around for a while – it’s kind of new to me. Obviously, it gives me a lot of confidence, what I did in New York, and I look to keep on progressing physically and mentally.

“If I get that stuff right, there’s no reason why my tennis isn’t good enough to compete with the best players in the world.”