Jack Draper will be given until the very last moment to prove his fitness as the British No 1 looks to shake off fatigue to play in Great Britain’s Davis Cup opener on Wednesday.
Draper, who arrived in Manchester to link-up with his team-mates on Tuesday lunchtime, conceded after his career-best run to the US Open semi-finals that he was ‘banged up’ following defeat to world No 1 and eventual winner Jannik Sinner.
And while team captain Leon Smith is thrilled to have his highest-ranked player among his stable of players here, ‘risk versus reward’ is at the forefront of his thinking with ties against Argentina and Canada, on Friday and Sunday respectively, following Wednesday’s opener against Finland.
‘We are absolutely thrilled that he’s coming,’ Smith said. ‘That shows his commitment.
‘I have spoken to him a lot about Davis Cup. He obviously came to Colombia last year and then was involved in what we did in September and November.
Jack Draper is facing a quick turnaround after his US Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner
Davis Cup captain Leon Smith is keen to give the British No 1 ample time to recover ahead of joining the team for clashes against Finland, Argentina and Canada
Draper (far right) has featured in a number of Davis Cup teams since making the cut last year
‘You can tell straight away that he gets Davis Cup: he plays with passion, pride, fight, and you mix that with the fact he’s a top 20 player with unbelievable quality, he’s going to be a very important member of the team not just this week but for many, many, many years to come.
‘He absolutely loves it and his commitment by coming here just shows that.’
Pressed on whether Draper, who is practising off-site in Manchester on Tuesday, has a shot of playing in one of the singles openers, Smith is playing the long game, hinting that his star player will be given additional rest.
‘I have to select the team to do what is best, not just for tomorrow, but also we have really important matches at the weekend as well so we just have to weigh up risk versus reward a little bit,’ he said.
‘Until we get on the court and start doing some stuff it’s quite hard to tell how that feels [with him].
The Briton played a grueling tie against the world No 1 which saw him increasingly stricken with humidity and anxiety-induced nausea
If Draper is not available for the opening clash against Finland, he will likely feature late on in the week (left to right: Henry Patten, Billy Harris, Smith, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski)
‘With that said we have four guys here who are more than capable of going out tomorrow if that’s required and doing a really good job.’
There is no denying that Draper is the star of the show and an appearance here would allow a partisan home crowd to fete their new superstar after his semi-final run in New York.
But should Draper, who is itching to play despite his fatigue, be omitted from Wednesday’s tie with Finland, Dan Evans and Billy Harris represent options for singles, with Neal Skupski and Henry Patten doubles contenders.
Draper, 22, flew back to the UK on Saturday and has kept in constant communication with Smith about his energy levels.
‘Davis Cup is a huge deal to me,’ Draper said in New York last week.
The 22-year-old has been outspoken about his love of Davis Cup tennis and playing for his country with the team
‘I never really understood it until I played it for the first time. When we were going to Colombia (last February), it was a bit like, “Should I go, should I not?”
‘But I went and saw how important it is to everyone, how important it is to be there representing your country.
‘So even though the tennis schedule is full and is relentless, I’ve barely had a day off since the start of the year, I want to be there, I want to be competing for my country.
‘I’ll speak to my team but I want to be there on Wednesday.’
