Draper Wins 'Ugly' Like Murray on Injury Return

In Eastbourne on June 22, 2026, Britain’s Jack Draper claimed an "ugly" victory in his first competitive match in over two months, drawing inspiration from his new coach, Sir Andy Murray. Draper, 24, had been sidelined due to a knee injury since April but resumed competing after teaming up with the three-time Grand Slam champion for the grass-court season.

Draper started strong at Eastbourne, managing to fend off a late surge from American Marcos Giron, securing a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win. Commenting on having a knight in his coaching corner, Draper humorously noted, "I haven’t called him ‘Sir’ yet - that’s not going to happen. I’m really grateful to Andy that he’s chosen to help me and wants to help me. Today was a performance a bit like what he used to do - winning ugly."

This marked Draper’s first win since beating 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells in March. His movement on the court was notably good, and he performed well on serve, dropping only one point behind his first serve as he wrapped up the first set in 35 minutes. He held an early lead in the second set, but after giving Giron a chance to break back while serving for the match at 5-4, Giron capitalized on the opportunity, leveling the match before pushing it to a tie-break. Draper maintained his composure in the tie-break, steering himself to victory and a subsequent meeting with fellow Briton Jack Pinnington Jones.

Reflecting on the match, Draper mentioned, "I lost concentration, which can happen if you haven’t played for a while and you’re against a good player like Marcos.” Following a challenging year marked by injury setbacks, including bone bruising in his serving arm, Draper expressed optimism about his condition, stating he's in a “very stable place” with his injuries. He acknowledged, "Knee tendonitis doesn’t go away overnight, but I’m in a really good position to be very explosive. I feel like I’ve got full power and full capacity back again, which is a massive feeling for me after not having that for a very long time.”

Draper conveyed his gratitude for Murray’s support during what he termed an "incredibly difficult" year, emphasizing, "Andy, truthfully, is one of my biggest inspirations. When I was younger, I remember him playing all the big events and being there to watch him. He believes in my game, he believes in me as a person. That’s what I really need right now coming back from the year I have had."

In other matches, fellow Briton Pinnington Jones rallied from a set down to defeat Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti, while in the women’s competition, Britain’s Francesca Jones was overpowered 6-2, 6-2 by former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Teenager Hannah Klugman narrowly lost to Czech 19-year-old Tereza Valentova, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5.