Rennae Stubbs has made her prediction for how far Jack Draper could go at Wimbledon this year.
The fourth seed and top-ranked Brit, expectations for the reigning Indian Wells champion will be high at this year’s event.
After all, his rise has been meteoric, with Jack Draper proving he is more than capable of rising to the occasion.
A fit, consistent and powerful threat, Stubbs has suggested that there is just one main thing that might stop him from reaching the latter stages of Wimbledon; something that Andy Murray, fortunately, had in abundance.
Rennae Stubbs on Jack Draper dealing with Wimbledon pressure
Speaking on her own podcast, right before she aired an interview with Draper, Stubbs sought to preview the 23-year-old’s upcoming campaign.
She admitted: ‘There’s certain players that can play at home and play really well. Andy Murray is a perfect example. Look at the pressure that he had on his shoulders and was able to, you know, win Wimbledon, win a gold medal in London. Like, incredible how well he played at Wimbledon through the years.
‘And I think Jack Draper’s the personality that can actually embrace it and do well too, at Wimbledon.
‘So I think the crowd’s going to be incredibly behind him. He’ll play on, you know, centre court, court one, maybe I doubt he’s going to be on anything other than those courts. And frankly, he shouldn’t be.
‘If he goes on court two, it’ll be packed. But so I think this is a real opportunity again, for a new face in British tennis to take the mantle from Andy now that he’s gone. And I think Jack Draper has a real chance to win a grand slam in his career.’
This claim was made before Draper’s Wimbledon draw came out, which likely would have had an impact on her positivity.
Jack Draper could face Alexander Bublik in Wimbledon round three
When Draper’s Wimbledon draw emerged, it was assumed that the Brit might be blessed given how hard he has worked to be the fourth seed.
However, it did not take long for people to realise that, should he make it to the third round, he will have to play the man who just knocked him out of the French Open: Alexander Bublik.
The man with the endless bag of tricks, his game translates dangerously well to grass, having just beaten Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev on his way to the Halle Open title.
In Paris, his drop shots killed Draper, who was powerless to stop the 29-year-old.
And, given that his thunderous serve and powerful groundstrokes will fly even faster on grass, it might force last year’s US Open semi-finalist even further back, making him more susceptible to another drop shot masterclass.
Either way, it’s arguably the toughest start that Draper could have faced.
