Jack Draper praised for adding ‘new element’ to his game after first match with Andy Murray as his coach
Jack Draper came through his first match since April with an impressive straight sets victory against Marcos Giron at the Eastbourne Open.
Draper was set to face Brandon Nakashima in the first round of the ATP event, but his late withdrawal changed the opponent at the last minute.
That did not seem to faze the British star, however, as he raced to a 7-5, 7-6 victory against the American to earn his first victory since beating Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells.
The star, who is working with Andy Murray for the grass court swing, is hoping to put his injury issues behind him after suffering with arm and knee issues over the last year.
His performance in the first round of the Eastbourne Open will go some ways to quelling fans’ fears about him and he will be looking for a solid run at the South Coast event.
Draper’s match against Giron earned him plenty of plaudits, none more so than Dominic Inglot, who was commentating on his return match for the BBC.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist was full of praise for Draper’s performance against Giron.
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Speaking straight after he claimed the victory, Inglot said: “Fantastic performance and exactly the result he would have liked. It was straightforward, his opponent is very difficult on this surface, but he handled it well.
“He could have finished it a little sooner, he will be upset he got broken that easily when serving for the match but it didn’t faze him. And actually came through in a close tie-breaker, showing some good strategy.”
Inglot also noticed several new factors to Draper’s game following his first match with new coach Andy Murray, who will also be working with him at Wimbledon.
“[His] execution was excellent. The serving statistics he will be pretty happy with, but I think the variety in his game as well, the dropshots. How welw was he hitting those? That really opened up a new element to his game.”
Draper’s victory over Giron secured him a second round match with compatriot Jack Pinnington-Jones, who defeated Marco Trungelliti in his first round match.
The all-British affair is a massive opportunity for both men as the bottom half of the draw is less star-studded than the top half at Eastbourne.
Either man could reach the semi-final of the tournament without having to play a top 30 player in the rankings, with Joao Fonseca the first genuine challenger in the final four.
Draper has not played the Eastbourne Open since 2022, when he reached the semi-finals. He beat Jenson Brooksby and Diego Schwartzman en route to the final four, but his campaign was ended by Maxime Cressy.
