Jack Draper ignoring Wimbledon pressure as Brit shares thoughts on tricky run to final

Jack Draper racked up his first win in the post-Andy Murray era at Wimbledon - and then insisted he already played every match like "my life depends on it". The British No.1 raced to a 6-2 6-2 2-1 lead against Sebastian Baez before the Argentine retired with a leg injury.

The world No.4 is the great home hope in an event where 10 British players have reached the second round - the joint highest this century. But Draper shrugged off the pressure of expectation and claimed: "I don't think about it until people mention it every five minutes.

"I play every match like my life depends on it anyway. All the stuff around it, I haven't really thought of. It's almost better when you're in the tournament than before the tournament.

"I obviously was aware of the build-up and all that sort of stuff. I think my preparation has been really good. I feel confident. I focus on the things that I can control. I'm doing all the right things on a daily basis and giving myself the best chance to go out there and do the best I can. That's all I can do.

"Obviously I'm the one who wants to do amazingly well, as well. I put pressure on myself, too, in a good way. I am really looking forward to this next week or so. It is going to be great."

Draper spent only 78 minutes on Centre Court and admitted: "I thought it was a good start. I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. I felt I was getting my tennis together."

Draper will next face 2017 Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic but his route to the second week was potentially eased yesterday by a five-set defeat for Alexander Bublik.

The Kazakh, who beat the British No.1 at the French Open, was his scheduled third round foe. But Draper insisted: "I have got to face whoever is in front of me. I can't be thinking about five matches ahead. I have got to actually win the matches to get there."