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Jack Draper claimed an emphatic victory on his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Norway in Davis Cup qualifying.<\/b><\/p>\n
British number one Draper has spent five months on the sidelines with a bruised bone in his service arm.<\/p>\n
His comeback was delayed twice by the injury and he missed January’s Australian Open to complete his recovery.<\/p>\n
However, he served well, moved sharply and showed some brutal ball-striking to bear Viktor Durasovic 6-2 6-2 in his first competitive match for 164 days.<\/p>\n
Sterner tests will await world number 13 Draper, who is ranked 300 places above Durasovic, but he will be relieved to have rattled through a convincing win after a long spell out.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a difficult time but I knew I had to keep on practising and keep learning about myself,” the 24-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Cameron Norrie will face Nicolai Budkov Kjaer later on Thursday in the best-of-five tie.<\/p>\n
Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash will team up for the doubles on Friday, with two singles matches to follow if the tie has not been decided by then.<\/p>\n
The winner of the tie in Oslo will face either Australia or Ecuador for a place in November’s eight-team Finals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n