Jack Draper beat lucky loser Marcos Giron 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in an impressive straight sets first-round victory at the Eastbourne Open in his first game under new coach Andy Murray.
Draper has been hampered by injuries since the US Open last August, with a knee problem causing his latest stint on the sidelines since April.
The former World No 4 returned on the grass of Eastbourne after only playing nine matches throughout 2026 one week before Wimbledon starts with British tennis great Murray as part of his coaching set-up for the first time in competition.
Draper dispatched Giron, a late replacement for Brandon Nakashima who pulled out of the event having made it through to the semi-finals at Queen's Club last week.
"Incredibly excited to be back out here again," said Draper during his on-court interview. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play the grass because it's been an incredibly difficult year with certain physical bits, but to be here is special.
"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 started to play some good tennis until I lost my concentration, which can happen when you haven't played for a while. Against good players like Marcos, they take advantage of that, but really happy with the way I came through in the end and I have given myself another opportunity in the second round to play better and hopefully build some momentum in my mind and body."
Draper was also asked what it was like having Murray in his coaching box.
"I haven't called him 'Sir' yet," joked Draper. "That's not going to happen. Andy is truthfully one of my biggest inspirationsā¦"
"Today's performance was a bit like what he used to do, winning ugly!"
Draper will take on fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones in the second round on Wednesday.
Speaking to Your Site on Sunday, Draper revealed that .
"He [Murray] has always supported me," said Draper. "I've always had a great relationship with Andy. We spent some time together towards the back end of his career and he's been a great support to me every since he has stopped as well, but it felt like a really good time to get Andy in my team. I've always wanted that because he's one of my biggest inspirations.
"To have him there in my coaching team, not only as a coach, but a mentor as somebody who has been through it all, which is a special thing. But also the fact that he believes in me, believes in my tennis - especially in this moment now which is to come back and build myself up again. It gives me a big boost!"
Murray delivered glowing praise of Draper's ability, hailing his tennis as "b****y good".
"I was thinking to myself, 'I was like No 4 in the world'. I think I was always pretty good," Draper jested. "Hearing that from Andy means on another level, so he's a special, special person, not only as a person, but also his tennis knowledge. If he's saying that about you, then there's no one who you can get more confidence from than him.
"To know someone who has dealt with all the things that you have gone through such as injuries, or pressure moments, or how to deal with certain situations, he really does bring to me so many different things and he delivers it in such a calm way and in a way that is very helpful. He's very honest but also very calm. He has a very good influence on me."
Draper, who has endured an injury-stricken 12 months, said: "I'm so happy to be back at a tournament. It's been way too long. My body is feeling good. It's been a tough time doing rehab and not be able to get on the match court but to come back at a tournament like Eastbourne is great so I'm really happy.
"I always saw injuries as being a one-to-two-week thing, so when you have a big one, you do lose a lot of confidence in your body and doing the thing that you've always been able to do.
"You can go from doing anything to then really struggling just to move without pain or something like that, so you have to work yourself through it. And luckily I've had some really amazing people around to help guide me and tell me, 'Jack, it's going to be alright, you'll get out there' and it's nice to be back."
Venus Williams returned to a grass-court tournament for the first time in three years but the American went down to an agonising 6-2 4-6 7-6 (8-6) to Irina-Camelia Begu in Bad Homburg and is now 0-8 in 2026.
The 46-year old last won a singles match in July 2025 when beating fellow American Peyton Stearns at the Washington Open.
She is the first former No 1 to lose 11 matches in a row since the rankings were first published in 1975.
Meanwhile, Adam Walton defeated Nick Kyrgios 6-3 6-4 to reach the second round in Mallorca.
Kyrgios will play only doubles at Wimbledon with Alexander Bublik.
Naomi Osaka breezed past Magdalena Frech 6-4 6-1 in an interrupted straight sets win in the first round of the Bad Homburg Open.
The World No 16 leapt out to a 5-0 first set lead, but missed a set point, allowing Frech to make a brief challenge and win four straight games to get herself back in the match before play was interrupted by rain on Sunday night.
Osaka needed just one game after the resumption on Monday to seal the first set, and produced a blistering performance to win six of the next seven games in a 32-minute second set to send the Pole home and book her place in the next round.
"I'm definitely really happy. I haven't played her in an official match before, and this is my first official grass court match of the year," Osaka said.
"I feel like I hit heavy compared to a lot of other girls, so I'm hoping that helps me pull out some victories on this surface."
