GB’s Draper claims emphatic victory on injury return

Jack Draper claimed an emphatic victory on his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Norway in Davis Cup qualifying.

British number one Draper has spent five months on the sidelines with a bruised bone in his service arm.

His comeback was delayed twice by the injury and he missed January’s Australian Open to complete his recovery.

However, he served well, moved sharply and showed some brutal ball-striking to bear Viktor Durasovic 6-2 6-2 in his first competitive match for 164 days.

Sterner tests will await world number 13 Draper, who is ranked 300 places above Durasovic, but he will be relieved to have rattled through a convincing win after a long spell out.

“It’s been a difficult time but I knew I had to keep on practising and keep learning about myself,” the 24-year-old said.

Cameron Norrie will face Nicolai Budkov Kjaer later on Thursday in the best-of-five tie.

Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash will team up for the doubles on Friday, with two singles matches to follow if the tie has not been decided by then.

Englishman Draper said he had “lots of dark moments” during the injury lay-off that disrupted his breakout season.

Draper had won the prestigious Masters 1,000 title at Indian Wells and reached the fourth round of the Australian and French Opens before being impacted by the injury in his left arm.

He suffered a second-round exit at Wimbledon and played just one match after before ending his season early.

There were very few signs of rust against Durasovic, with Draper dropping just 10 points on serve, hitting eight aces and winning 88% of first-serve points.

He produced three glorious passing shots – two off the backhand and one off the forehand – and moved well behind the baseline to suffocate Durasovic.

He went a quick break up in both sets and did not face a single break point.

Draper looked sharp on his return and there was little sign of rust in what turned out to be a very gentle stroll past Durasovic.

The 24-year-old had support from a vast travelling Lawn Tennis Association team as well as his new coach Jamie Delgado.

Personal coaches do not usually travel to Davis Cup ties, but this was the first chance Delgado has had to see Draper in action since succeeding James Trotman in the autumn.

Draper and Delgado are scheduled to head to Rotterdam after this tie for the British number one’s return to the ATP Tour.