Jack Draper makes ‘unbelievable’ injury confession as he battles through at US Open
Jack Draper was forced to battle to secure victory in his first round match against qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez at the US Open and he made some brutally honest confessions about his recent injury lay off after the match.
Draper turned in a battling performance as he recorded a 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 victory after one minute over three hours, with the intensity of the battle testing the arm injury that has been troubling the British No 1 in recent weeks.
This was Draper’s first match since his second round defeat against Marin Cilic at Wimbledon in early July and while he has not made too many comments on the nature or severity of the arm problem, he did open up on his fears after the win against Gomez.
“It’s unbelievable to be out here in New York. I wasn’t sure if I would make it here this year but we have done a great job with the team since Wimbledon to get myself back on court,” said Draper.
“It wasn’t my finest performance but credit to my opponent. He played some outstanding tennis.
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“I’m looking forward to improving and hopefully getting better as the tournament goes on.
“I’m not putting too many expectations on myself. I’ve put in the work. If I can get that level back, I will be really tough to beat.
“There are so many amazing players in this draw. I’m just so happy to be able to compete here in New York.
“I haven’t played loads so I’m trying to conserve as much energy as I can.”
Draper has plenty of ranking points to defend after his run to the US Open semi-finals last year and he will need to improve on this performance and cut down his unforced error count when he plays his second round match against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs on Thursday.
While he may have been more content with a comfortable win to get his season back on track, Grand Slam winning legend Martina Navratilova told Sky Sports that Draper may be grateful to have tested his arm problem in a long battle on the opening Monday in New York.
“The lack of play showed. He hit the right shots and played his way into form,” stated the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion.
“If you have a niggling injury and you are stretched in your first match, which he was, and it holds up, it may even get better.
“It’s a good sign he looked better at the end of the match than the beginning.”
Draper will now have a couple of days to rest before he returns to action and he will have fond memories of his only previous meeting with Bergs, as he beat him to secure his first win in a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in 2022.
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