Jack Draper’s absence from tennis will extend past the Australian Open, after the British star withdrew from the first Grand Slam of the year.
The British number one has not been in action since withdrawing from the US Open in September, having also pulled out of planned returns at the UTS Grand Finals and the United Cup.
Draper will return to ATP action in Rotterdam and his first taste of tennis will be at the Davis Cup as Great Britain take on Norway.
The star has left a huge hole in British tennis and Cameron Norrie has explained if it’s affected him ahead of the Australian Open.
Cameron Norrie can’t wait to see Jack Draper return to tennis
Norrie has impressively been holding down the fort in Draper’s absence, by returning to the top 30 of the ATP Tour rankings.
He will be seeded at the Australian Open and he has become the de-facto British number one at the Grand Slam.
Speaking at his Australian Open press conference, Norrie was asked if he felt the pressure in Draper’s absence.
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“To be honest, I’m not thinking about that too much. I would prefer Jack to be here healthy. I really like watching him play. It’s been probably a tough period for him.
“I know he was very close to being ready to play. So I would love to see him back playing. Especially we have kind of similar games, so I really enjoy watching his matches and learning from the way he is structuring points, winning points.
“In terms of that, I’m not thinking about that too much. I’m more trying to win my matches. I think for me and the other Brits, I think it’s always nice to see more and more players, especially in the qualies, in the main draw.”
Norrie believes there’s a camaraderie between the British players and he sent support to Arthur Fery, who came through qualifying.
“I think you can see it a lot with the other countries where they’re pushing each other along. They’re competing with one another. I really like that. I saw a lot of the boys in the quallies this week.
“It’s nice to see Arthur get through. But yeah, it will be nice. I think the whole group of guys, I don’t see any reason why not they can be a top 100.”
Norrie plays Benjamin Bonzi in the first round of the Australian Open, while Fery has been drawn against Flavio Cobolli.
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There will be seven British stars in the main draw across the men and women’s event at the Australian Open.
Norrie will be joined by Fery and Jacob Fearnley, the latter of whom gained automatic entry due to his World No. 77 ranking.
Fearnley will play Kamil Majchrzak in the first round, who is currently ranked 18 places above the British star.
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Emma Raducanu will lead the British women at the tournament and she will be joined by Katie Boulter, who squeezed through into the main draw without qualifying.
Boulter is ranked world number 117, but several withdrawals meant she was able to receive automatic entry.
Boulter faces a tough first round test against Belinda Bencic, who is yet to lose in singles action this season.
Fran Jones and Sonay Kartal will also feature in the main draw, and they will play Linda Klimovičová and Anna Kalinskaya, respectively.
