British teenager Jack Draper dramatically collapsed with apparent heat exhaustion during his ATP Tour debut against Mikhail Kukushkin at the Miami Open.
The 19-year-old is one of Britain’s brightest prospects and he showed more than enough in the 79 minutes it took for Kukushkin to win the opening set 7-5 to indicate he can play at this level consistently in the future.
But physically Draper clearly has work to do.
After having his heart-rate checked and blood pressure taken, Draper resumed, but down set point he fell to the floor.
He was swiftly attended to by medics and was sitting up with an ice pack on his neck when the umpire called the match for Kukushkin.
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski believes there are plenty of positives for Draper to take from the loss, despite being forced into a retirement.
