From laughs to belief: Laura Robson backs Jack Draper for Wimbledon glory despite disappointing French Open

Laura Robson believes Jack Draper has a realistic chance of advancing all the way to the final at Wimbledon 2025. The 23-year-old has experienced an impressive rise this year, which has propelled him to become the fourth-ranked player in the ATP rankings.

Former British player Robson, who works for Sky Sports as a pundit, spoke to the British media outlet, backing Draper to play in the final at Wimbledon this year. The 31-year-old also revealed how she and Tim Henman laughed when Jonathan Overend predicted that a British player might play in the final of a Grand Slam this year, but believes that prediction might become a reality sooner than expected.

"Tim [Henman] and I were joking about this in Paris, that fact that at the end of the year, Overs [Jonathan Overend] said we're going to have a Brit in the Wimbledon final and we laughed it off, but now Jack is up to number four in the world and we're thinking, 'Oh, we're closer than we thought,” Robson told Sky Sports. "To have that on the men's side, as well as Alcaraz and Sinner as well - it's pretty special. It's nice to have British storylines involved before the tournament even starts."

Draper’s most recent outing was at the French Open, where he was knocked out after suffering a shocking defeat in the fourth round to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Despite that result, the 2024 US Open semifinalist will be satisfied with his performance this year. Draper lifted his maiden ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells in March, where he defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Two months later, in May, Draper finished as the runner-up in another ATP 1000 event, the Madrid Masters, where he came second-best against Casper Ruud in the final with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.