Draper raises fears as gutted Brit reacts after French Open damage withdrawal

“I said to my coach, in the first set, I’m not retiring from another match. I don’t want to do this. 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 round the corner, and hope it settles down before that. But I don’t want to retire from a match at the French Open.”

But the British No.4 insisted he will be back for Wimbledon. “Obviously we’ll see how it goes the next few weeks. Hopefully. I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious or anything. I’ve just got a really flared up tendon. It’s not a tear or a strain, it’s something to do with the tendon at the top of my arm. And if I’m trying to serve 130mph serves the impact it’s just going to get more and more sore.

“It’s a huge part of my game, my serve, so hopefully it settles down but I have no idea how long that might be. I think I’ll be more than fine for Wimbledon, it’s just what’s going on in the weeks coming up.”