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He has long been touted as the next star of British tennis. Now, at the age of 23, Jack Draper is the British number one and world number five.

The London-born ace has upped his ranking in some style of late, first winning the biggest tournament of his career in March - the ATP Masters 1000 of Indian Wells, California, often described as the "fifth slam".

Next came a run to the Madrid Open final at the start of May, which saw him leapfrog Novak Djokovic and enter the world's top five for the first time.

He eventually succumbed in the final to two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud, but the loss has done little to dampen the excitement around Draper in the UK.

So, how has Draper got to this point in his career - and has he got his sights firmly on a Grand Slam title?

Background and career so far

The 6ft 4in left-hander from Sutton turned pro in 2018, having been introduced to the sport by his mother, Nicky, a former British junior champion.

She took him to his first training session at the Sutton Tennis and Squash Club, where she was a coach, when he was just six.

Tennis is in his blood on both sides; his father, Roger, was a talented amateur tennis player and chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) from 2006 to 2013.

He also hasn't kept all his eggs in the tennis basket, having been signed to international modelling agency IMG, since he was around 18.

Draper really started making his mark in 2021 with impressive victories over Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik at the 2021 Cinch Championships at the Queen's Club.

He went on to win his first ATP Challenger title in Forli at the beginning of the 2022 season, then became the youngest Briton to win three ATP Challenger singles titles at the age of 20 - lifting three trophies in two months.

Title wins so far

Draper has three professional titles to his name so far, and has earned $6,788,612 (£5,090,814) in prize money, according to the ATP Tour.

Having reached his first two ATP finals in Sofia and Adelaide earlier in 2024, Draper claimed his first ATP title at the Stuttgart Open in June last year, surpassing Cameron Norrie to become the new British number one.

He did so after wins over Frances Tiafoe, Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima on his road to the final against former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini.

Then in October he won the Vienna Open - an even bigger title - by beating Russian world number 24 Karen Khachanov in the Austrian capital 6-4 7-5.

He had to wait until March 2025 for his third title win, which came at Indian Wells, after he sealed a straight-sets victory over Holger Rune.

It rarely looked in doubt during the final, which came after an exceptional run from Draper which saw him seal a 6-1 0-6 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in the semi-final, win against Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca, American Jenson Brooksby, and seeds Taylor Fritz in the round of 16 and Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.

Speaking after the final win, he said: "It's incredible. I wasn't expecting this. I put in a lot of work over time. I'm just so grateful and happy to be out here to play with my body feeling healthy and feeling great in my mind.

"All the work I've done over the last few years, it feels like it's all coming together on the big stage. I cannot put that into words.

He added that he still thinks he can improve his game, something he said was "really exciting".

"I feel like a lot of players maybe are kind of maxed out in some ways. I feel like I've still got a lot to work on and a lot to uncover with my tennis."

Draper put together yet another impressive run in the Italian Open in May to reach the quarter-finals, where he eventually lost to Alcaraz.

First British US semi-finalist since Murray

In September last year, sandwiched between his ATP title wins, Draper became the first British male to reach the US Open semi-final since Andy Murray in 2012, doing so without dropping a set.

His run to the semi-final saw him defeat then number 10 seed Alex de Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 in a dominant performance.

Having reached the stage without dropping a set, he eventually lost to world number one, Italy's Jannick Sinner, after being sick on the court in New York.

It was a gruelling affair, with both men receiving treatment from their trainers during hot and humid conditions.

The sheer physical exertion took its toll on Draper and he vomited several times, while Sinner, 23, needed his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win.

After the match, Draper said his anxiety had played a role in him feeling unwell on the court.

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Like all athletes, injuries have stunted Draper's progress at times.

At the start of the year, Draper missed the United Cup due to a hip injury. The same injury also prevented him from attending a training camp with four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.

He later played in the Australian Open in Melbourne but was forced to retire mid-match against Alcaraz in the fourth round.

He said: "I think obviously it's a big occasion for me. I definitely felt, even though I generally feel pretty relaxed, I definitely felt more excited today, a few more nerves around.

"I'm definitely someone who is, I think, quite an anxious human being. I think when you add all that together, sometimes I do feel a bit nausea on court, and I do feel a little bit sick when it gets tough.

"I didn't have any problems before the match, but it obviously just built up."

Draper put together another exciting Grand Slam run this January, reaching the Australian Open fourth round for the first time in his career, where he was pitted against Alcaraz once again.

But his battle with the Spaniard was cut short when he was forced to retire after picking up an injury. He was 7-5 6-1 down at that point.

After the Indian Wells victory, Draper said it was "obviously a huge goal of mine to win a slam" next.

"It's kind of different in the slams, it's five sets, it's a little bit of a change," he said.

"But I'm definitely believing more and more that I can compete consistently against the top players in the world. I feel like I belong completely."

He said he wasn't ever thinking about winning a 250 or 500 or 1000 or semis of a major, but said he had done all those things by "working hard and putting one foot in front of the other, knuckling down trying to improve all the time, trying to be the best player I can be".

Overcoming the injuries - and key to success

Having been vocal about the toll of his physical setbacks, Draper revealed last year that there were times he doubted his career in the sport altogether.

"I've had times when I've maybe thought to stop or, 'Am I cut out for this sport? Am I really good enough?' And all these sorts of stuff," he said, after securing victory in last year's US Open quarter-final.

"I think it helps the fact that I've been in a lot of kind of low points already in my career where I've had injuries, I've had setbacks.

"I kept on believing in myself, kept on working. Those are hard moments."

Going into Indian Wells, he had been managing a hip problem, but said he believes improving his forehand has been a key factor in his rise up the rankings.

"I worked really hard on it with my coach [James Trotman]," he said.

"When I first started working with him my forehand was a weapon, but it was also a weakness.

"My backhand, I could always hit that with my eyes closed, but with the forehand I felt that putting any pace into it was a problem and also the ability to hurt off that side.

"I remember when I played Carlos [Alcaraz] here a couple of years ago I felt like I couldn't hit the skin off a rice pudding so I feel like I've come a long way with that."

He added that he still thinks he can improve his game, something he said was "really exciting".

"I feel like a lot of players maybe are kind of maxed out in some ways. I feel like I've still got a lot to work on and a lot to uncover with my tennis."

'Murray is there for me if I need it'

Draper's meteoric rise in 2024 coincided with the retirement of beloved Briton Andy Murray, who won three Grand Slams during his illustrious career.

Now the highest-ranked British male star since Murray, the comparisons have been inevitable.

Draper said last year he had spoken to the retired great a few times in the past, but added he was focusing on following his own path.

"I feel like when people you respect give you advice, it's obviously always good, but at the end of the day, it's their experience," he said at the time.

"I think it's important to live these situations yourself and understand it for yourself, because everyone reacts differently to different pressures, different situations, different emotions.

"I know Andy is there for me if I need it, but at the same time, I feel pretty relaxed. I feel pretty good, and I'm just taking it one day at a time, and looking to keep on going forward."

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Draper has also spoken fondly of his friendship with Sinner, whom he called a "good friend".

The pair have previously played doubles together.

"We send each other messages in good moments, bad moments," he said last year.

"It's a tough sport to play when you're a young guy. You're on the road, you're playing such a relentlessly intense sport, both physically, emotionally, and it's difficult, we haven't got many friends. So to sort of have the support of someone who's going through it themselves is really big."