Jack Draper admits his recent injury setback was tough to deal with, but he is confident that he will return to the Tour stronger than before.
Draper, who has been ranked as high as fourth in the world, hasn’t played a competitive match since his first round win at the US Open and hasn’t played a match outside of the Grand Slams since June. The Brit has been sidelined from action due to an upper left arm injury, which first flared up during last year’s clay swing and then into the spring. The exact issue he has been dealing with is a bone stress injury. It occurs when ‘repetitive loading on a bone exceeds its ability to remodel and recover.’
The 24-year-old starts his comeback this week in the Davis Cup when Great Britain takes on Norway at the Nadderud Arena in Oslo. Despite his lack of match play in recent months, a confident Draper is hoping to hit the ground running with a desire to become a better player than before.
“I believe I’m a better player than I was six months ago from all the things I’ve been doing,” Draper said during an interview with Sky Sports.
“I just need match play. Tennis is a confidence sport. It’s a sport where you play better the more you compete.
“It might take me a bit of time to get back into it, but I feel really confident. It’s just making sure this injury gets behind me and then I can progress strongly.”
Draper’s recovery has been under the guidance of coach Jamie Delgardo, who took over from his former long-time mentor, James Trotman, in October. Trotman stepped away from the role to prioritise his family life.
“Trots put in an incredible amount of work over a long period of time. He was very special to me,” the British No.1 commented.
“I always knew in the back of my mind that maybe if that wasn’t quite going to work out, then I knew that Jamie is an incredible person and a great coach. Being around Andy (Murray) when I was younger, I saw that and he’s just that.
“He’s great to be around. He understands the game and understands the individual as a player himself.
“I’ve made many improvements already. I’m looking to just keep on evolving into the player that I want to become.”
Draper will have a large amount of points to defend during the early stages of his comeback with Indian Wells getting underway next month. He is the reigning champion at the Masters 1000 event. He was also runner-up at another Masters event in Madrid last year. Draper is currently ranked 13th in the world and is the only British singles player – male or female – in the top 20.
“It’s just about getting the intensity back to where it needs to be,” he explains.
“It’s very tough to stay afloat, let alone keep on improving. So, I’m very proud of myself for keeping on improving, knowing that my time will come again and I have to be ready.”
In the Davis Cup tie with Norway, Draper is scheduled to play Viktor Durasovic and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer over two days. However, this could change depending on how the tie progresses.
