WATCH: Jack Draper seals first ATP Tour match win since May – ‘It’s good to be back’
Jack Draper picked up a confidence-boosting win ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year, US Open, as he made a successful ATP Tour comeback at the Winston-Salem Open.
The rising British star missed the entire grass-court season – including Wimbledon – after picking up a shoulder injury at the French Open. He made a tentative return at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Winnipeg, Canada, last week, winning his opener before going in straight sets in the second round.
On Monday he made his long-awaited ATP Tour comeback as he took on Nuno Borges in the first round of the ATP 250 event and produced a solid display, winning 6-3, 6-1 as he slammed a winner down the line.
“I played a really clean match. The guy is a really good player, so is everyone on this level,” Draper said. “It’s good to be back here in Winston. I had amazing memories here last year, so I’m happy to be back.”
Draper, who has slumped to No 118 in the ATP Rankings following his lengthy absence, defeated the likes of Fabio Fognini and Dominic Thiem en route to reaching the quarter-final in Winston-Salem last year.
The 21-year-old dropped only two points on serve in the opening set as he broke in games seven and nine while he broke in games four and six of the second set. He won 96 per cent (26/27) of points on first serve.
“I think my serve was amazing today. I kept on putting pressure on him on my return games,” the left-hander said. “Last week [when I returned on the ATP Challenger Tour], I wasn’t too sharp when I first started back playing. But hopefully I can build on this performance and show you guys some good tennis all week.”
Draper peaked at No 38 in the ATP Rankings in January this year following an impressive breakthrough campaign the year before that saw him reach the third round of the US Open and his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Canadian Open while he also made it to the semi-final of the ATP 250 Eastbourne International.
The win will no doubt give him a boost with he US Open starting next week, but he will face a big challenge in the second round on Tuesday as he will take on second seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
Sebastian Baez was the highest seed in action and the sixth-seeded Argentine moved into the third round with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Daniel Galan.
