Jack Draper suffered more physical problems at the French Open 2023 when a left shoulder problem forced him to pull out during his first-round clash with Tomas Etcheverry.
The 21-year-old has struggled with hip and abdominal problems this season but declared himself fully fit ahead of the year’s second grand slam.
However, it became clear in the eighth game that Draper was ailing physically again when he started to serve underarm.
He managed to hold serve to make it 4-4 but Argentinian Etcheverry claimed the next two games to take the opening set, after which a resigned-looking Draper called the trainer.
He took some pills and tried to play on but, trailing 0-30 in the second game of the second set, pulled the plug and shook hands with his opponent before trudging off court.
There is no doubt about Draper’s potential but, rather like his former junior compatriot Emma Raducanu, his body has so far been unable to hold up to the rigours of top-level tennis.
He will now hope this issue does not seriously impact his grass-court prospects, with Wimbledon starting in five weeks.
