By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Britain’s Jack Draper admitted he was simply proud to be on court at the U.S. Open after overcoming Argentine qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez in Monday’s first round while dealing with a left-arm injury.
The match at Flushing Meadows was Draper’s first singles outing since his second-round exit at Wimbledon last month, with the fifth seed revealing he had been unsure whether he would recover in time from a bruised humerus on his serving arm.
“There’s obviously a recovery process. You know, with the injury I had in my arm, the return to competition is probably about eight weeks; I’m here seven weeks, so I’m early,” Draper told reporters after his 6-4 7-5 6-7(7) 6-2 win.
“As I’ve gotten closer to the tournament, me and my team, you know, we’ve had more scans, we’re confident that I’m not doing any more damage to my arm, and I’m in a place where I can go out and compete.”
Draper, a semi-finalist in New York last year, said he was still easing his way back, while he conceded he has deliberately taken pace off his serve in recent weeks to avoid aggravating the injury.
“I’ve definitely had to rein in my serve a little bit to make sure to keep the pain down, that’s for sure,” he said.
“The ramp-up is quite quick to be here, so I couldn’t sort of go full out on the serve the last few weeks.”
Despite some rocky moments, including losing the third set in a tiebreak, the 23-year-old welcomed the test of a three-hour contest.
“I needed tennis in my legs,” Draper said. “In some ways I was almost happy to lose the third, because I wasn’t playing my best, but towards the end I felt better and better. That’s what I needed, competitive tennis at this level.”
While uncertainty remains about how his arm will hold up over the coming weeks, Draper said he expects to continue with a full schedule through the rest of the season.
“I still feel like I’m building up with getting everything back to 100%,” he said.
“Obviously we’ll go day by day and see how it is, but at the same time, I’m planning on playing a full schedule till the end of the year.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
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