French Open 2023 results: Jack Draper ‘hates being the guy who’s injured a lot’

Britain’s Jack Draper says he “hates being the guy who’s injured a lot” after retiring on his French Open senior debut with a shoulder issue.

Draper started to serve underarm in the first set of the first-round match.

“It’s difficult. It’s extremely tough, tougher than playing and losing. I feel a bit mentally destroyed,” he said.

“It’s really frustrating. But I will get there. It’s just a brutal sport.

“I hate being the guy who is injured a lot.”

Draper, ranked 55th in the world, has suffered a catalogue of physical problems in his young career and this is the third successive Grand Slam match where his performance has been affected by injury.

After retiring from his US Open third-round match against Karen Khachanov with a hamstring problem, the British men’s number four was compromised by cramping in his Australian Open defeat by Rafael Nadal.

He also retired from his meeting with Spain’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells in March.

“I said to my coach, in the first set, I’m not retiring from another match. I don’t want to do this,” said Draper, who has retired 12 times across senior and junior matches since 2018.

“Even if I had to play three sets underarm. I don’t care I just wanted to play. But there’s no point in making this worse.

“I’ve obviously got to think about the grass [season] round the corner, and hope it settles down before that.”

Draper’s physical troubles come at a time when British tennis is missing its most successful young player – Emma Raducanu – through injury as the 20-year-old has struggled with a series of niggles that have hampered her progress since her stunning US Open victory in 2021.

She is sidelined for the coming months after wrist and ankle surgeries, having had a similar series of mid-match retirements which have dogged Draper.

Left-hander Draper was beaten 6-4 in the opening set against Etcheverry, needing physio treatment on his serving shoulder and it was no surprise when he retired shortly afterwards.

Draper lost the first game of the second set when he was receiving and decided he could not continue after his next two service points.

At the start of this year he was managing a chronic hip injury – which led to the problem in New York – before hurting his abdomen at Indian Wells in March and again at Monte Carlo in April.

Draper decided to do a training block at the National Tennis Centre in London to build back up physically and returned to match action in Lyon last week.

Speaking to the British media at Roland Garros on Sunday, he admitted he had “no idea” how this fortnight would go as he “figured out” how to get his body right.

But it later transpired Draper “felt a twinge” in his shoulder during practice on Sunday, resorting to underarm serving less than 24 hours later against Etcheverry.

After talking to his team and deciding he would try to carry on, Draper lasted only one more game and trudged off court looking disconsolate.

“I took all the things I needed to go on court, hoping it would settle down. But it didn’t. It got worse,” he said.