Jack Draper paid a backhanded tribute to his new mentor after a first victory since March, saying of coach Andy Murray: ‘Today was a bit like what he used to do – winning ugly.’
It was indeed not the prettiest at times against Marcos Giron but in a first outing since April, prettiness was not required. Draper was not at his brutally brilliant best but he won 6-4, 7-6 and the long climb back from the foothills of 160th in the world has begun – and so has his partnership with Sir Andy.
The Scot sat stoically in the box with just the odd fist pump at key moments; we may see him more animated once the starter’s gun goes at Wimbledon next week. Asked what it was like having a knight of the realm in his corner, Draper replied: ‘I haven’t called him Sir yet, that’s not going to happen.’
The fear for Draper here at the Eastbourne Open – denied strenuously by the player himself – is that he was rushing himself back for Wimbledon. But after this solid performance, there is no reason to doubt his statement that he is over his injury issues and back for the long haul.
After all the wretched luck Draper has had over the last 14 months – for that bone bruising issue began way back in April 2025 – no one could begrudge him the two strokes of fortune he received here.
First, on Monday morning, his prospective opponent Brandon Nakashima withdrew. Giron replaced him and, while the American is a solid player at 86th in the world, he is not Nakashima, one of the tour’s most promising players and fresh off a semi-final at the Queen’s Club.
Jack Draper paid a backhanded compliment to his new mentor Andy Murray after securing his first victory since March
Murray was watching on from the stands at the Eastbourne Open as Draper beat Marcos Giron 6-4, 7-6 in a far from pretty affair
So that was a nice start to Draper’s day. And then, as he held a break point in the second set, his ball kissed the top of the tape and dropped over. After all the blows this sport has dealt him, that felt like justice and, though Draper would relinquish that break with a nervy attempt to serve out the match, he got it done in the tiebreak, 7-5.
‘If you haven’t competed in a while, you never know what to expect,’ said the 24-year-old. ‘The first set was a bit up and down and then I started to play some good tennis. I lost concentration which can happen if you haven’t played for a while and you’re against good players like Marcos.
‘But I’m really happy with the way I came through in the end and I give myself another opportunity in the second round to play better and keep building momentum in my tennis and in my body.’
In that second round he will play his old friend and fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones, with whom he used to carpool on trips to the National Tennis Centre.
So, how did the rebooted Draper perform? To the eye at least, there was no questioning his physical condition: he looked as chiselled and muscle-bound as ever.
His backhand is his bread and butter and that was solid, while the forehand took a while to heat up. Tactically, it was notable how many drop shots he played – the influence of the ultimate court craftsman Murray perhaps?
Murray has definitely been tinkering with the biomechanics of Draper’s service action – the player told us as much. Draper was noticeably more upright and the whole motion was more abbreviated. It looked good and the numbers backed that up: 71 per cent of first serves in and six aces.
It is early days, and playing over potentially five sets at Wimbledon still looks a tall order. But, at long last, Jack is back.
Draper’s backhand is his bread and butter and it was grooved at Eastbourne
The Brit only faced Giron after Brandon Nakashima withdrew on Monday morning
Murray has definitely been tinkering with the biomechanics of Draper’s service action – the player told us as much
Meanwhile in Wimbledon qualifying, Dan Evans took the first step towards winning his way into the main draw in his final event before retirement.
The 36-year-old announced earlier this month that he would hang up his rackets after Queen’s and Wimbledon. The snag was that he would require a wildcard to compete in either of those and on both counts he was turned down.
He failed to qualify for Queen’s and afterwards said it would have been a ‘classy gesture’ for the tournament to have invited him in.
After beating Bolivian Juan Carlos Prado Angelo 7-6, 6-3, Evans denied he was motivated to qualify by a desire to prove Wimbledon’s wildcard committee wrong: ‘I play tennis for myself, not to prove other people wrong and I’ve done that throughout my career.
‘It’s nothing to do with the All England Club giving or not giving me a wildcard. They gave me one in doubles and I am appreciative of that.
‘It’s neither here nor there if they gave me a wildcard. I’m really happy that I ended up playing qualifying, to get a chance to come and play in this atmosphere.’
