Jack Draper's love for Rafael Nadal stretched so far as a kid he even used to copy the serial Grand Slam champion's iconic sleeveless shirt and headband look.

Now, the 21-year-old Briton is preparing to share of a court with one of his "heroes" when he faces Nadal - the defending champion and top seed - on his Australian Open debut.

A confident and assured character who does not possess a hint of arrogance, Draper truly believes he can cause an upset.

The left-hander has been one of the fastest climbers on the ATP Tour in the past six months, moving inside the world's top 40 after being ranked 262nd a year ago.

Notable victories came against top-10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the back end of last year, while he has started this season by reaching the semi-finals of a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open in Adelaide.

Beating 36-year-old Nadal, who admits he is "vulnerable" after winning only once in his past seven matches, would propel Draper further towards superstardom.

"There is one side of it where he is the 22-time Grand Slam champion, one of the greatest of all time. But at the same time he's one of my competitors now," said Draper.

"I was thinking on the plane over, I've come a long way myself, but I've got to put it out my mind who I'm playing and go out and try and do the best I can."

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Without Nadal - or Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and British hero Andy Murray - Draper says he would not be the player he is.

But it is not just iconic tennis stars who Draper continues to draw inspiration from.

"When I was a kid, I was always intrigued by people who were great in their own sport," he told BBC Sport at Melbourne Park.

"Michael Jordan, Ayrton Senna, Conor McGregor when he was on the come-up, all those athletes who have achieved great things in their sport.

"I find their journeys and mentality so interesting and I have watched a lot of documentaries on that sort of thing.

"I watched the Senna doc and, although there was such a sad end, that was amazing; it inspired me a lot.

"From watching that, and other docs, I've learned from their ability to deal with adversity, to deal with things that are tough mentally and the things it takes to be a professional athlete." 

While Draper continues his physical development, there are few questions over his talent and mentality.

Former world number one Murray has trained and practised regularly with Draper, saying he "knows how good" the younger player already is.

"Jack is a big server, he's a big guy and plays with a lot of top-spin as well," said the three-time Grand Slam champion.

"It is a great opportunity for him against Rafa to go out there and see exactly where he's at."