Andy Murray loved a marathon match during his career. Prior to hanging up his racket last summer, the tennis icon took part in 42 five-set epics, reigning supreme on 28 occasions.
And Jack Draper is well and truly on his way to following in his fellow Briton's footsteps after he won a thriller against Alexandar Vukic on Friday.
The 23-year-old isn't Murray yet of course. In order to do that he will need to win Grand Slam titles. More than his compatriot's three, for sure.
But Draper's hopes of Australian Open glory remain alive, despite the tennis star being pushed to his limits at the Margaret Court Arena.
Jack Draper is through to the fourth round of the Australian Open after he won a marathon match with Alexandar Vukic
GETTY
In the early stages of the match, Draper was impressive. There was no signs of tiredness as he wrapped up the first set 6-4, just two days after he'd come through a gruelling five-setter against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Like on Wednesday, he was the villain of the day. The Australian Open crowd were cheering on Vukic, their man, willing him to go through.
For a while, he was in the ascendancy. He took both the second and third sets with Draper, usually so composed, losing his temper as a result.
He exploded in an uncharacteristic fit of rage after the third set, swearing as he took his seat.
Draper also opted to smash his racket to pieces, sparking boos from the crowd, before storming down to the locker room after finding himself 2-1 down.
But resilience is a huge part of the Briton's game. He showed that during his remarkable run to the US Open semi-finals back in the summer, where he was eventually beaten by Jannik Sinner.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic calls out Tim Henman at Australian Open over Andy Murray comments - 'I saw'
Draper could have been forgiven for collapsing after that. Given his miles on the clock, and given how the majority of the ground wanted Vukic to win, he seemed destined to slump to defeat.
Yet the tennis star is made of strong stuff and, after squandering several set points, he was able to ultimately force a decider.
Draper was quick out of the blocks, breaking in the third game to go 2-1 up. After holding his serve, the stars appeared to finally be aligning.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Jack Draper was resilient in the heat of the battle as he charged on at the Australian Open
REUTERS
Vukic was a constant threat, however, and sparked hopes around the stadium that he'd pull off an upset by breaking Draper back.
With the match on a knife edge, and approaching its end, it was too close to call. Draper, already on court for over 12 hours this tournament, continued to maintain his high performance despite signs of tiredness creeping in.
But he was eventually able to get the job done, with Draper winning the tie-break to secure a 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 win.
Jack Draper was just about able to scrape past Alexandar Vukic and into the fourth round of the Australian Open
REUTERS
Producing a classic? Check. Losing his cool? Check. Getting the job done, despite everything that was thrown at him? Check.
Draper isn't Murray yet. But he's getting there - and will now be dreaming of more big moments with his hopes of Australian Open glory very much alive.
