Draper seizes Centre Court spotlight after Murray's misery
And despite some chewed fingernails as the stylish left-hander was made to dig deep against gallant Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3, they liked what they saw.
Two-time 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 seeing 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.
Draper stunned reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen's Club in the build-up to the All England Club fortnight and toppled Cameron 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.
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 favour by winning the next two sets and looked on course for a quick finish.
In the tradition of British players, including Murray, putting the fans through the wringer, Draper lost his focus and dropped serve at 4-4 in the fourth set, allowing Ymer to drag the match into a fifth set.
After a delay while the roof was closed and lights turned on, Draper returned to the stage full of intent and rattled through the deciding set to post his second Wimbledon win.
He has a long way to go to get anywhere near Murray's 61 Wimbledon match wins and if he ends up with a career even half as good as the Scot's it would be a great outcome.
But as Murray hands over the baton, Draper looks capable of matching his best Grand Slam run which came when reaching the fourth round of last year's U.S. Open.
