Jack Draper and Andy Murray will be honoured with British Tennis Journalists’ Association awards.
British No. 1 Draper is the youngest man to be named the BTJA’s Player of the Year after enjoying a breakthrough season.
He lifted his maiden career title in Stuttgart in June before winning his first ATP 500 tournament at the Vienna Open in October.
The 22-year-old ended the year with a career-high ranking of No. 15 after reaching the US Open semi-final. He also upset Carlos Alcaraz at the Queen’s Club over the summer.
Draper received 83 per cent of the vote, with the award decided by a ballot of BTJA members. He joins the likes of Murray and Emma Raducanu, who have previously been named Player of the Year.
The world No. 15 said: “A huge thank you for this award. I am looking forward to hopefully creating more memories to come in the future.”
Meanwhile, Murray is the winner of the BTJA’s Services to British Tennis award. After retiring at the Olympics, the former No. 1 is being recognised for his significant contribution to the sport through an extraordinary career.
The 37-year-old won three Grand Slam titles, including two at Wimbledon, won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in men’s singles, helped Britain win the Davis Cup in 2015, and was the year-end No. 1 in 2016.
“I really appreciate this award,” Murray said. “When I first started on the tour my relationship with the media was tricky at times.
“But on the whole over a really long career, we both treated each other with a lot of respect. I really appreciate the effort that went into covering my career. Thank you for that.”
Both men will be honoured on Tuesday at the BTJA’s Annual Awards Lunch at the All England Club.
A charity auction and raffle will also be held in support of Shrewsbury House Youth and Community Centre (The Shewsy), a youth club in Everton, Liverpool, which helps some of the most vulnerable young people in the UK.
The BTJA’s former chairman, late Daily Mail tennis journalist, Mike Dickson had a lifelong interest in the club. His family have nominated it as the beneficiary of the auction and raffle.
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