Jack Draper admitted his US Open first-round win over Federico Gomez “wasn’t my finest performance” but added he was thrilled with how his injured left arm held up.

There was briefly some concern for Draper’s hopes as he left the court after losing the third set in his four-set victory, the British No 1 and fifth seed at Flushing Meadows looking rusty and lacking in match fitness in his first competitive singles match since July 3.

Draper’s serving speeds were down roughly 10mph on his usual average of the mid 110s or low 120s as he made his return to action after 53 days out with bone bruising on his left arm.

“I’ve definitely had to rein in my serve a little bit to make sure to keep the pain down,” Draper explained in his post-match press conference. “At the same time, though, I feel like my accuracy is almost a bit better at times.

“It’s not giving me pain on my serve, that’s not why I’m doing it. I can crank it up if I want to, it’s just that it’s probably not necessary sometimes for me to be doing that – I don’t need to fully ramp up so quickly [after injury].

“The main thing is I’m here. I’m here competing hard, and I’m not doing any more damage to my arm.”

Draper added: “It obviously wasn’t my finest performance. But at the same time, there was some problem-solving out there, some really good stuff and some very average stuff.

“I needed tennis in my legs. I needed to play a three-hour match. I was almost a bit happy when I lost the third [set], because my level wasn’t amazing.

“Towards the end of the fourth, I started to get better and better. The more times I’m playing two-and-a-half hours, three hours, that’s going to help my arm adapt. Today it responded amazing.”

Draper elaborated further on his left arm and how it’s feeling when speaking to Sky Sports. “It feels good,” he said. “It’s pretty much recovered now.

“It’s not holding me back at all But it’s one of those things which can still give a bit of pain even though it has recovered.”

‘You can’t question his fighting spirit’

Former British No 1 men’s player, Tim Henman:

“A good effort to get through that one. It wasn’t easy.

“There will be questions to be answered about his arm I think, but the one thing you can’t question is his fighting spirit.

“He found a way to get the job done and fingers-crossed his body and arm will pull up well before his second round.

“Having not played for 53 days, not having had a competitive match since Wimbledon, I’m sure he will feel a lot of satisfaction to come out on top in four sets.”

‘Jack didn’t panic’

Former British No 1, Laura Robson:

“All things considered, Jack will take that in just over three hours. In terms of energy, it didn’t look like he was gassed by the end of it.

“Gomez threw absolutely everything at him and come up with some outrageous shots, but Jack just backed himself. He didn’t panic when the moment got tough.

“Jack can be very happy that he’s through to the second round after what was a pretty long layoff with the arm injury. You don’t know how your body’s going to pull up, that’s always the question mark.

“I think the expectation is probably quite low, and then he maybe surprised himself at times with how well he was playing and how well he was moving, in particular. But then there were other times where you could see that lack of match sharpness as well.

“A bit of a mixed bag, but a win’s a win. That’s ultimately the only thing you’d need to be focusing on.”

‘He looked better at the end of the match than the beginning’

Eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion, Martina Navratilova:

“I think the lack of play did show with Jack, but he was the better player.

“He hit the right shots, was a little rusty but played his way into form. And Gomez played well, he was a tough opponent.

“His arm holding up here, then I think it should be okay for the rest of the tournament.

“If you have a niggling injury and you are stretched in your first match, which he was, and it holds up, it may even get better.

“It’s a good sign he looked better at the end of the match than the beginning.”

‘Draper deserves a lot of credit’

Sky Sports Tennis commentator, Jonathan Overend:

“That was a difficult match. It is one where you just want to get the win, and he will hope it’s the start of a big tournament.

“There are questions to be asked after it, of course there are, because at times it did look like there was not the power that we’re used to seeing from Draper.

“It was his first match in 53 days – so much time off, away from the competitive environment, to then to find yourself in the heat of battle once again.

“To come through the fourth set in the way he did deserves a lot of credit.”

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