Jack Draper returned from a six-month injury absence on Thursday, when the left-hander competed for Great Britain in its Davis Cup qualifying tie against Norway. A bone bruise in his left arm had kept Draper on the sidelines since last summer’s U.S. Open, where he advanced one round before withdrawing.
The British Davis Cup team is visiting Norway on Thursday and Friday, with the 24-year-old playing alongside Cameron Norrie to battle a Norwegian side that is without Casper Ruud. With Ruud not playing, the Brits are heavy favorites.
But Draper is just happy to be back on the court.
“I feel good,” Draper said, as reported by the Independent. “Obviously, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to be on the match court. I played a bit at the U.S. Open, but it just wasn’t anywhere near where I needed to be to come back to professional tennis. In that time, it’s been really difficult — a very complex injury.
“Multiple people have had this one and it’s not straightforward at all. But I’ve learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about my body, my character and what I need moving forward. I’m really happy to be back competing again and healthy.”
Draper is also on the entry list for next week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have withdrawn, but the field is still stacked. Draper is part of a field that also features Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik, Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Arthur Fils, Hubert Hurkacz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.