Andy Murray hilariously dug Jack Draper out as the British No. 1 took to social media to share his preparations for the clay swing. The young Brit has been enjoying some time at home after the sunshine double, where he won his biggest title in Indian Wells before losing his opening match in Miami.
The world No. 7 also made a subtle change to his appearance – something Murray quickly picked up on. But the three-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t a fan, mocking his young successor in the comments.
Draper has been hard at work in the UK after his triumph in the Californian desert. The 23-year-old enjoyed an incredible run in Indian Wells last month, beating Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune to claim his first Masters 1000 title.
He lost his opening match at the Miami Open to Jakub Mensik, though it was nothing to lose sleep over as his opponent went on to lift the title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Draper’s early exit meant he could come home and recharge before preparing for the upcoming clay swing.
The British No. 1 has been hard at work at the National Tennis Centre over the past week and he took to Instagram to share a photo dump of his exploits at home, with a mix of snaps from his training sessions with compatriot Jacob Fearnley, and his downtime.
But one tiny tweak caught Murray’s attention. Draper has been sporting new blonde highlights, and the retired British tennis icon made a brutal dig about his new look.
“Not sure if you noticed but I think a bird has [poo emoji] on your hair in that photo,” the former world No. 1 commented.
Draper has yet to respond to Murray’s jibe, but he will be showing off his new look at next week’s Monte-Carlo Masters. The 23-year-old had a tough clay swing last year, emphasised by multiple tight three-set losses, and will be keen to turn things around in 2025.
After winning Indian Wells, Draper said: “I think I’m going feel a lot better on the clay this year considering the last 12 months I’ve had and the belief I have.
“But also I feel like I’ve got a lot to prove and I’m really motivated to be back on that surface and show that I can produce results on every type of court.”
Murray could also make an appearance during the clay swing as Djokovic looks to bounce back from his Miami Open final defeat.
The retired Brit started coaching his rival during the off-season and spent the last month State-side with Djokovic’s camp in Indian Wells and Miami.
The Serb reached his first final since October at the Miami Open but lost to Mensik in two tiebreak sets and appeared to be struggling with an eye injury.
“[I prefero to] just congratulate him. That’s it. I don’t want to sound like I’m giving excuses here for my loss,” Djokovic said of his physical woes.
