[Source: Reuters]

Centre Court ticket holders were expecting to watch Andy Murray’s last stand at Wimbledon on Tuesday but instead got a glimpse of the new force in British tennis in the shape of 22-year-old Jack Draper.

Despite some chewed fingernails as the stylish left-hander was made to dig deep against gallant Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer to win 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3, they liked what they saw.

Twice Wimbledon champion and former world number one Murray withdrew from the singles in the morning having failed to recover in time from surgery to remove a spinal cyst.

While fans were disappointed at being deprived of seeing the 37-year-old Murray do battle one last time in what is his final Wimbledon, they ended the day cheering Draper into the second round under the Centre Court roof.

“You came here to watch Andy, but you were stuck with me instead,” Draper said on court. “The crowd helped massively, I love playing in front of a lot of people.”

Asked for his thoughts on taking over from Murray, the man who carried British tennis for more than a decade, Draper said: “What an honour, to think of the number ones that came before me, Tim (Henman), Andy and Cam (Norrie).

“I wouldn’t be here without Andy, he’s one of a kind.”

Draper stunned reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club in the build-up to the All England Club fortnight and toppled Norrie as Britain’s new number one.

He arrived seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time, at number 28, and while struggling at times against the shot-making of Ymer, he showed Murray-like resolve to avoid a slip-up.

The 28-year-old Ymer has never realised his full potential and is ranked outside the top 200, but he played beautifully in the opening set as Draper briefly looked weighed down by the expectation now loaded on his shoulders.

When he unleashed his powerful groundstrokes and began to find their target, Draper turned the match in his favour by winning the next two sets and looked on course for a quick finish.