Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper will be involved in feuds with the respective top seeds in the California desert on Tuesday night, and it’s not too optimistic to venture that this is the way it will come.
Regardless of what happens, the past week has provided the strongest evidence to date that the overall underperforming British game has thrown out not one, but two gems that will battle top players.
Overnight UK time, Raducanu will take on Iga Swiatek, the Pole who has established herself as the only truly outstanding player in women’s football since Serena Williams faded away.
Raducanu, prominent in seeing off Brazilian wrestler Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the round of 16 in Indian Wells, is better known than Draper.
There was a hint of a turning point about his 7-6, 6-2 win over Andy Murray, with the poignant addition that this was the first win against a player he has always admired and who continues to defy medical prognosis with his metal hip. .
Jack Draper faces US Open Spanish champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round
Emma Raducanu fired the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia to arrange a meeting with Iga Swiatek
The two were born less than 11 months apart, and though they are united by similar age and uncommon talent, their backgrounds are vastly different.
Raducanu has no tennis in his family lineage, whereas Draper was always destined to play the game.
His father, Roger, was the former CEO of the Lawn Tennis Association and his mother, Nicky, a coach and previously an excellent junior player.
Indeed, among connoisseurs of the British game, the 21-year-old Draper has been on the radar much longer than his female counterpart. It was just their extraordinary summer of 2021 that propelled her fame far ahead of his.
Another thing they have in common is a tendency for repeated minor injuries that have slowed them down, and both arrived in Southern California without having played since the Australian Open.
Their three wins each since landing there have been a reminder of the great potential they each possess and, assuming they can add more physical stamina, it won’t be long before they mix him up with the best on a regular basis.
The 21-year-old lefty has long been on the radar of British tennis insiders.
Andy Murray was defeated 7-6, 6-2 by compatriot Draper at the BNP Paribas Open in the third round
Swiatek awaits Raducanu after her 6-3, 7-6 win over Canada’s Bianca Andreescu
Draper faces world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz (top seed in Novak Djokovic’s absence), and the brilliant Spanish teenager could expect a proper test.
As a 6’4″ lefty, the assumption might be that Draper’s game is led by his serve, but he has a lot more to him than that.
In addition to having an excellent return, his backhand is clean and efficient, while his forehand has great spin.
The strength of his base game comes from the fact that when his method was being perfected as a youth, he was relatively small in stature, before a growth spurt later in his teens, and needed to get rid of the points.
The serve has actually been more of a work in progress and could gain more consistency and accuracy, but it was telling that against Murray he won a high percentage of second serve points – 68.
As Murray has generously observed, he still has a lot of improvements in him: “I think he’s going to be one of the best players for a long time, as long as he stays healthy,” said the 35-year-old Scotsman.
Both Raducanu (pictured) and Draper have long suffered from injury problems and both entered the desert tournament without playing since the Australian Open.
It’s always a great moment for a young player when they first get past someone they idolize. Murray has spoken about how significant it was when he, in turn, picked up an opening victory over Tim Henman.
One sign of how much defeating Murray meant to Draper was that he gave the Scotsman a big bear hug at the net: “I’ve looked up to Andy since I was very young.” I watched him win Wimbledon for the first time in 2013 and then got to know him and practice with him often,” Draper said. “He is a really special person, a great champion, and I have the privilege of playing against him.”
Amid the excitement over two younger players, it should not be overlooked that Cam Norrie, who will play sixth seed Andrey Rublev on Tuesday night, has long since surpassed Murray as the GB men’s No.1.
One measure of his admirable consistency is that he came into the match against the Russian having won 20 times on tour this year, the second-highest aggregate for anyone in 2022 behind Daniil Medvedev.