Jack Draper has endured an injury-riddled past 11 months. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images for LTA) Jack Draper made an encouraging start to his latest injury comeback by beating lucky loser Marcos Giron in straight sets in the first round of the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
With new coach Andy Murray watching from a courtside box on a sweltering day at Devonshire Park, former world No. 4 Draper progressed 6-4 7-6 (5) in an hour and 25 minutes.
He showed no obvious fitness concerns during a solid display to set up all-British encounter against Jack Pinnington Jones in the round of 16 of the Wimbledon warm-up event.
"It's been an incredibly difficult year for me with certain physical bits but to be here is really special," Draper said in his on-court interview.
"If you haven't competed in a while you never know what to expect.
"I thought the first set was a bit up-and-down and then I started to play some good tennis and then lost concentration, which can happen if you haven't played for a while.
"But 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 on hopefully building momentum in my tennis and in my body."
Draper has enlisted the support of three-time grand slam champion Murray for the grass court swing after being plagued by chronic arm and knee injuries during the past year, in addition to a recent shoulder problem.
The 24-year-old, who has plummeted to 160 in the rankings, declared himself to be in a "very good place" ahead of his first competitive outing since retiring injured in the round of 32 of the Barcelona Open on April 13.
Appearing to be in peak physical condition, he backed up his claim, serving well and wrapping up the opening set in 35 minutes after capitalising on only the second break point of the contest following a poor double fault from his opponent.
World No. 86 Giron was beaten in qualifying on Sunday by Britain's Jan Choinski but received a second chance due to his fellow American Brandon Nakashima withdrawing injured on Monday morning.
The 32-year-old was broken again in game six of the second set after being on the wrong side of a net-cord winner before hitting back in game nine when Draper was broken to love during a temporary wobble in which he slipped and fell on the baseline.
Former US Open semi-finalist Draper was unable to prevent a second-set tiebreak before recovering from a mini-break at 3-1 down to ensure he will have more competitive action ahead of Wimbledon.