British number one Jack Draper wants to fill the sizeable shoes of Andy Murray – even if they did used to stink the locker room out.
Life after Murray begins in earnest on Monday with the start of the US Open in the first grand slam since the Scot called time on his glittering career.
The absence of the three-time grand-slam champion leaves a big hole in British tennis, but at 22, Draper is the best hope of flying the flag.
“It seems a bit sort of weird not having Andy there with his rancid, stinking shoes lying next to me in the locker room,” Draper said ahead of his first-round match with Zhang Zhizhen on Tuesday.
“Andy’s shoes would always be drying out next to me with his wedding ring on it and that sort of stuff.
“I do miss his presence a lot. I think it’s important that I do obviously feel a responsibility to really play good tennis and be the British number one.
