Jack Draper secured a convincing 6-1 6-4 victory over Canadian Gabriel Diallo in the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals on Thursday, advancing to the semi-finals without his new coach Andy Murray courtside. The British No. 3, who has been sidelined by injuries for much of the past year, displayed impressive form in his first tournament since April.
Murray's absence explained
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who recently joined Draper's coaching team, was not present for the match due to prior charitable commitments. Draper confirmed after the match that Murray had other obligations that could not be rescheduled. 'I asked him to work with me a month or so ago,' Draper said. 'He had some charitable commitments in his diary and today it was one of those days, but he'll likely be back again tomorrow. He watched my whole match.'
Murray's absence raised questions about his availability for Wimbledon, but Draper allayed those concerns. 'Today was a one-off. He's Andy Murray - he is who he is, and he had a commitment that he couldn't get out of,' Draper explained.
Draper's injury comeback
Draper, 24, has struggled with a bone condition in his arm and knee tendonitis, which caused his ATP ranking to drop as low as No. 160. His last appearance before Eastbourne was at the Barcelona Open, where he was forced to give Tomas Etcheverry a walkover in the first round. During his rehabilitation, Draper admitted feeling trapped in an 'asylum' off the court.
Now healthy, Draper is aiming for a strong performance at Wimbledon, where he was eliminated in the second round last year despite being the No. 4 seed. He lost to Marin Cilic in a stunning upset on Court No. 1.
Coaching team and Wimbledon preparations
Draper parted ways with former coach Jamie Delgado and brought in Murray, a former British No. 1, to guide him. While Murray was absent on Thursday, other members of Draper's team—including existing coach James Trotman, strength and conditioning coach James Padfield, and physio Shane Annun (who worked with Murray for a decade)—handled on-court coaching. Murray is expected to be in Draper's box for all matches at Wimbledon.
Draper will face Ugo Humbert in the Eastbourne semi-finals as he seeks his fourth tour-level title. The match is scheduled for Friday on the Sussex coast.
