The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) chief executive is responsible for spending the multimillion-pound annual surplus which Wimbledon generates for the sport, and normally in the days after the tournament an inquest begins into why his big bucks have not been able to buy any tangible British successes.
This year, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And not because a train is coming in the opposite direction.
Not only did Andy Murray roll back three quarters of a century of history when he reached the men's singles final, and then perform so creditably when he got there, but his childhood pal Jamie Baker won friends and admirers as he went toe to toe with Andy Roddick on Court One and James Ward got through a round before extending one of the top seeds in Mardy Fish.
There are already clear signs of a resurgence in the women's game, with three players winning at least one match and Heather Watson briefly experiencing the limelight of being the first British lady to reach the third round for 10 years.
Jonny Marray, the first home winner in the event since before World War II, was a shock victor in the men's doubles with his Danish partner Frederik Nielsen, and juniors such as Oliver Golding and Liam Broady – and Scotland's Jonny O'Mara and Maia Lumsden – already seem to be players of genuine potential.
There is still much to be done, but it is at least a start. So what has made all the difference? Well, for a start, although tennis will always be an individual sport, there is more joined-up thinking and common purpose than ever before at the top of the game in this country.
While there has always been a creative tension between the Murray camp and the LTA hierarchy – the Scottish world No.4 was previously critical of wild cards being handed out too easily to British players – the last few years have seen Draper taking much of that expertise in-house.
Murray's friend and first coach Leon Smith has earned much kudos for his dual role as Davis Cup captain and head of men's and women's tennis, while Judy Murray hit the ground running as an inspiring Fed Cup captain.
"I think there is more togetherness in British tennis than ever before, a lot of people heading in the right direction," Draper told Herald Sport. "We have got some really good people in the right places. Leon is doing a fantastic job on the men's and women's side. Judy as Fed Cup captain has made an immediate impact as well – but it is not just about that. There are lots of other people doing important jobs as well. I sense that British tennis is in a good place just now and we have got an exciting two or three years ahead."
"We have always said it is about patience and progress," he added, "but I think people have seen something in the results. Guys like Jamie Baker and James Ward might not have won their matches, but James was taking Mardy Fish to four sets and Jamie was running Andy Roddick close as well. They have also seen the results of the juniors. I think we have now got a group of young players coming through and we just need to give them time."
Draper was speaking at an allplay tennis festival at Clapham Common, a kind of drop-in centre for players of all ages that also buys in to a long-held Murray bugbear about making sure tennis courts are welcoming and freely available to all, and a current Tennis Scotland focus on investment in park tennis.
"Here at the park you have mini tennis for the little ones, cardio tennis for the mums and dads, wheelchair tennis, and even speed-dating tennis," Draper said. "So there is something for everyone."
Draper's time at the top of the sport in this country makes him almost exactly a contemporary of Murray's, returning to the LTA for a second time after a stint at Sport England in 2006 – just when Murray was embarking on the senior tour. He is in no doubt the Scot's maiden grand slam win will come along sooner or later, and is tasked with making sure the support network is in place for when that eventuality occurs.
"When I was at the LTA first time around I knew Andy when he was around 12, 13, 14 and Judy when he was going through that sort of progression as well," Draper said. "I have seen him progress from a youngster right the way through, so it makes me feel very old now seeing him as a very professional young man at the peak of his sport. Andy I am sure will win a grand slam. He has been in four grand-slam finals, he is a world-class player and is already in the mix.
"Our big job is making sure we are ready for the moment. People will want to come into our sport when they are inspired by Andy hopefully winning Wimbledon and we need to make sure there is a great place for them to go to along to, with great people and good programmes."
Murray's emergence is often said to have been despite the LTA, as he spent the key years of his apprenticeship at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona. Draper hopes that enough community programmes are now in place, but feels most aspiring tennis players will continue to serve an apprenticeship on the continent in any case.
"It is a very individual sport, so you will take different routes," he said. "We have got Maia up there in Scotland who is doing a terrific job with Toby Smith, and we have got Jazzi Plews who is out at Sanchez-Casal in Spain, so I think it is different for different individuals. We have got a network of high-performance centres throughout the country which are more than capable of taking players through their tennis journey, if you like. But Leon's philosophy is that 70% of the time they should be playing away on clay anyway. I don't think there is any tennis player in the UK at all that hasn't spent some time away, either in Germany, Spain or Florida. That's just the way the sport works.
"If Andy can come from Dunblane, where there weren't the greatest indoor facilities or anything like that, it just goes to show that with hard work, dedication and commitment, anyone can do it."
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