Jack Draper: 'Win/win' for Surrey teen facing world number one at Wimbledon, says former coach
Jack Draper's former tennis coach said the Surrey teen was in a "win/win situation" as he faced the daunting challenge of taking on world number one Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Draper, 19, is making his debut after being given a wild card in The Champions at The All England Club in south west London.
Speaking to ITV News London school coach Ben Haran said it was an "unbelievable opportunity" for his former pupil.
"If he can settle into the match and he can get inspired - I think he'll need Djokovic to not be on the top of his game," said Ben Haran.
"But if those two things can work and he gets a bit of pressure on him, that's going to be an unbelievable opportunity for him to get into a match with him.
"But at the same time if Djokovic finds his game and is too good he's going to feel and know what it's like to play against someone of that level. I think what he'll take away from that match will then push him to work even harder," he added.
The teenager, ranked 253 in the world, claimed two notable scalps in top-40 duo Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik to reach the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club last week.
And while Djokovic admits he “does not know much” about tDraper, he says he is taking him “very seriously”.
“I honestly do not know too much about Draper, I've seen him play a little bit in Queen's where he beat Sinner,” he said in the build-up to the match.
“I actually practiced with Sinner yesterday so I asked him couple questions about Draper's game.
“I know he's a lefty. I've seen him practice today a little bit. I have to do my homework, speak to more players, watch some of the videos of his most recent performances in Queen's on grass."