Inside Jack Draper’s family: Inspired by his Alzheimer’s-stricken ‘nana’, with a former tennis chief dad and ex-junior star mum, the British No1 is aiming to prove he’s Andy Murray’s heir after storming into US Open quarter-finals

Jack Draper has reached the quarter-finals of the US Open without dropping a set and is now just three matches away from victory in New York.

The British No.1 will face Australian Alex de Minaur later today for a place in the last four. He has enjoyed stepping out of Andy Murray’s shadow and into the spotlight over the past 10 days.

The Scot retired last month after competing in his fifth Olympic Games, with Draper now his heir apparent.

The 22-year-old still has a long way to go to match the achievements of three-time Grand Slam winner Murray, but with the support of his family he could easily reach the top.

Draper is the one who makes most of the spectacular shots on the field, but the team behind him has also played a major role in his rise.

His rise was inspired by his ‘nana’ (right), who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease

Draper has revealed that his ‘nana’ was one of his biggest supporters when he first started playing, but she can no longer remember him due to her ‘cruel illness’

The 1.93m left-handed man is close to his grandmother, whom he calls ‘nana’, but she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year, making it difficult for her to remember him.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It is a condition that affects memory, thinking and behavior.

Draper is keen to raise awareness about this “cruel disease” and in December he bravely spoke out about its impact on his grandmother.

“Nana was one of my biggest supporters growing up and I’ve always had a close relationship with her, but this is a disease that completely takes away the person you knew,” Draper said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

‘My dad, who is Nana’s main carer, still takes her to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton to watch me train, but she doesn’t know who I am. And when my tennis matches are on TV, he tells Nana it’s me, but she doesn’t realise it anymore.

“This is probably the saddest thing for me and my family, that she doesn’t recognize us or communicate with us anymore. Nana has been a huge supporter of my tennis, and I wish she could see and appreciate all my achievements so far, because I know she would be very proud of me.”

Draper’s ‘nana’ would surely be proud now with the young Brit in such great form, but perhaps we should have seen this moment coming given that Draper comes from a tennis-mad family.

His father, Roger, once held the position of Chief Executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), and before that held the same position at Sport England.

Meanwhile, Draper’s mother, Nicky, was the top female junior player in Britain in her early years before becoming a coach.

Draper’s father, Roger (pictured), was the chief executive of Sport England and the LTA

His mother, Nicky (pictured), was the top female junior player in Britain in her younger years

They’ve been with Draper every step of the way and now he’s reaping the rewards.

Even his brother Ben was a good player, playing at the collegiate level at the University of California-Berkeley before earning a master’s degree from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

But it was Jack who proved he was the man to do it, climbing to the highest ranking ever at world number 25 last month, and after his US Open appearance he is set to climb even higher.

Draper showed glimpses of his potential earlier this year when he defeated former Grand Slam finalist Matteo Berrettini to claim his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart, before beating Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz in three sets at Queen’s.

But he had never advanced beyond the fourth round of a major before arriving in New York late last month.

Now he has taken that next step and he thinks he can go all the way. After all, Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have already dropped out, which means the draw is wide open.

The one standing in his way of a place in the semi-finals is De Minaur, who is currently in a relationship with Britain’s top female player, Katie Boulter.

Alex de Minaur (pictured) stands between Draper and the US Open semifinals

De Minaur (right) is cheered on by his girlfriend Katie Boulter (left), Britain’s top female tennis player

But Draper has the support of his own family and is now attempting to emulate his hero Andy Murray by winning his first major at the US Open, 12 years after the Scot’s triumph.

De Minaur is ranked higher than Draper and is in his third consecutive quarterfinal of the year. It is a stage he has become accustomed to, while this is unfamiliar territory for Draper.

But the Brit has held his own in ‘The Big Apple’ and we can expect him to make a big impression on Wednesday evening.

It was during this tournament that Murray ended his Grand Slam drought in 2012.

Twelve years later, and at the urging of his family, Draper increasingly begins to follow his hero’s example.