Jack Draper advanced to the first round of the Australian Open in a five-set battle for the second consecutive year.
Twelve months ago, the British No. 1 vomited in a bin next to the court at the end of a grueling victory over Marcos Giron in sweltering Melbourne heat.
It was fresher and fresher this time, with Draper’s biggest problem against Argentina’s Mariano Navone his inconsistency after an interrupted lift caused by a thigh injury.
Draper made 88 unforced errors and looked headed for two sets to one down, but dug himself out of a huge hole to win 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 after four hours and one minute.
The 15th seed raised his arms in the air as Navone’s final return flew wide before puffing out his cheeks and giving his opponent a weary hug.
Draper was forced to miss a training block with Carlos Alcaraz and the United Cup due to a groin problem he picked up in pre-season, but he spoke confidently about his prospects ahead of the tournament.
However, the 23-year-old looked erratic from the start, sprinkling errors and shot errors as Navone went on an early break in front.
The British star, a potential dark horse after his run to the US Open semi-finals, settled into the second set and looked to have turned the corner when he broke serve to start the third.
But instead, the errors returned and he broke serve twice in a row, with the 47th-ranked Navone to take the set.
History almost repeated itself in the fourth set as Draper broke early only to come back, and, had Navone taken more than one of his five break points, he might have emerged victorious.
But Draper dug in, broke back to lead 5-3 and was finally able to find some breathing room in the deciding set with Navone feeling the pace physically.
The 23-year-old left-hander was the third British winner of the day after Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart.
Thanasi Kokkinakis makes the last 64 at Melbourne Park for the sixth time.
He will face Thanasi Kokkinakis then after the Australian battled back from a set down and took painkillers during a medical absence to beat Roman Safiulli 3-6 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in a first-round match that went over four hour.
“I could barely sleep last night, so anxious… To play in front of you guys was unbelievable,” he said, pointing to the home fans.
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