Jack Draper draws inspiration from Andy Murray to win

Britain's Jack Draper drew inspiration from new coach Sir Andy Murray to claim an "ugly" win in his first competitive match in over two months. A knee injury had kept the 24-year-old on the sidelines since April, but he had been working with Murray in recent weeks after joining up with the three-time Grand Slam champion for the grass-court season. The pair's partnership got off to a winning start at Eastbourne as Draper held off a late charge by American Marcos Giron to secure a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory.

Asked what it was like having a knight in his coaching box, Draper joked, "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."

The victory marked Draper's first since he beat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells in March. The former British number one moved well around the court and looked particularly strong on serve, dropping just one point behind his first serve as he wrapped up the opening set in 35 minutes.

Draper went a quick break up in the second set, but when he offered Giron a triple break-back point while serving for the match at 5-4, the American took full advantage to level before forcing a tie-break. However, Draper maintained his composure in the tie-break to advance and set up a meeting with fellow Briton Jack Pinnington Jones.

"I lost concentration, which can happen if you haven't played for a while and you're against a good player like Marcos," Draper said.

The left-hander had struggled with injuries to his arm, knee, and shoulder, playing just 12 matches in the past year. Those injury problems originally began at Wimbledon the previous year, when he was experiencing the best run of his career after reaching the 2024 US Open semi-finals and rising to a career-high fourth in the world rankings. After making his comeback on the south coast, Draper stated he was in a "very stable place" regarding his injuries, which included bone bruising in his serving arm.

"Knee tendonitis doesn't go away overnight, but I'm in a really good position to be very explosive," he said to BBC Sport. "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 expressed appreciation for Murray's support after an "incredibly difficult" year. "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," Draper remarked. "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."

Fellow Briton Pinnington Jones emerged victorious from a set down against Argentina's Marco Trungelliti earlier on Monday. In the women's competition, Britain's Francesca Jones lost 6-2 6-2 against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, while teenager Hannah Klugman suffered a close 7-5 5-7 7-5 defeat by Czech 19-year-old Tereza Valentova.