Jack Draper made his much-anticipated return to tennis with a less-than-comfortable 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Marcos Giron at the Eastbourne Open.
Draper, now the world No160 after a year plagued by injury and illness, had decided last minute to play the ATP 250 event, having not featured on the tour since handing Tomas Etcheverry a walkover in the first round of the Barcelona Open.
That forced him out of the French Open last month, to follow on from the Australian Open which he also pulled out, citing that he did not feel ready physically.
Now, with three-time Grand Slam champion Sir Andy Murray in his corner, he is back on the eve of Wimbledon, hoping to build up some momentum on the grass ahead of his home Slam.
There were flashes of brilliance from the Brit on the Sussex coast, with temperatures soaring to 28 degrees at points, as he dictated with his trademark left-handed forehand and showcased that crushing serve that had become feared within the men’s game.
The first set was a slog against his American opponent, the lucky loser Giron, who was beaten by Draper’s compatriot Jan Choinski in three tight sets on Sunday.
He filled in at the last for Brandon Nakashima, the fifth seed, who pulled out on Monday morning with a back injury.
However, that meant that the world No86 could swing freely, and his power and laser-like accuracy - particularly off his delivery - was proving a problem for Draper, as Murray signalled encouragement from the courtside box.
He finally found the breakthrough at the end of the first set, breaking the tricky Giron, who undid himself at the crucial moment with a double fault.
The second set proved another tough task as the sun shone brighter and the air got stickier.
A few unforced errors off both flanks had Draper begin to show signs of frustration, and that cued murmurs of unrest among the home crowd.
The 24-year-old spurned the chance to serve the match out at 5-2 up, but some carelessness and a resurgence from Giron brought it back to 5-5, before the American forced a tiebreak.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult year for me with certain physical bits but to be here is really special,” Draper said afterwards.
“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.”
Addressing his new coach Murray, he continued: “I haven’t called him ‘sir’ yet.
“Andy, truthfully, is one of my biggest inspirations.
“As I came on to the tour, we spent some time together and I think we have a great relationship off the court but also what he brings to me in terms of the tennis as well.
“He believes in my game, he believes in me as a person, and that’s what I really need right now coming back from the year I’ve had.
“I’m very grateful to Andy that he’s chosen to help me and wants to help. I suppose today was a performance a bit like what he used to do: winning ugly.”
He turned on the style in the breaker, going up a mini-break as concern began to settle in, but Draper was able to turn it around, with a final forehand flourish what he needed to send him sailing into the second round, where he will face British wildcard Jack Pinnington Jones, who produced a superb comeback victory in three sets over Argentine Marco Trungelliti earlier in the day on Centre Court.
