Good and bad news: Jack Draper's Great Britain through at Davis Cup but ABN AMRO Open off the cards

Friday, 06 February 2026 at 21:30

Jack Draper won through yesterday on his return to the court but he won't play next week at ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, it has been confirmed with the Brit not yet ready to play back-to-back weeks as he plots his course back.

The overall picture at the Davis Cup saw Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool avoid a huge scare. They were heavy favourites against the duo of Viktor Durasovic and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer ranked 491st and 1,187th in the doubles respectively.

The pair raced through the first set but completely lost their way in the second. But they held firm to eventually win through 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-5). Albeit there was a blunder in which Cash produced a service winner to secure victory, he thought it was a 10-point match tie-break. However the umpire had confirmed that Britain had wrapped it up.

"It means the world," Glasspool said after the Davis Cup win. "It was a little monkey on our back and now we can both free up a little and hopefully get many more wins."

Jacob Fearnley later beat Budkov Kjaer 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 to make it a clean sweep for Great Britain after Fearnley was essentially playing for nothing. The returning Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie were among the winners on Thursday before that to put Leon Smith's side in a strong position.

Qualifiers next for Great Britain

Draper did not play on Friday and he later withdrew from Rotterdam albeit he did have a silver lining in his current injury predicament that he is going good but isn't ready yet for more matches after his one this week.

"While I am feeling positive about how my recovery is going I have been advised not to rush straight out and potentially compete in back-to-back matches," he said.

"As disappointed as I am not to be back out there, overall I am trending in the right direction."

Great Britain will compete in the second round of the Davis Cup Qualifiers in September. The final eight will then take place in Bologna in November with eight nations competing to lift the trophy in a six day event. Italy are three-time defending champions. Japan's two-day tie against Austria started on Friday. Yosuke Watanuki beat Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 to give Japan the lead. Jurij Rodionov then defeated Shintaro Mochizuki 6-4, 7-5 to level for Austria.

Leon Smith, Team Captain of Great Britain thinks the country are in a good place ahead of the second part of the qualifiers as per LTA. "I’m really delighted, very proud of what the players have done," he said. "The beginning of the tie with Casper Ruud not being able to play changes the dynamics, but then our guys have to go and deliver.

"We knew with Budkov Kjaer and Durasovic that it’s dangerous. It’s Davis Cup and things can happen, we’ve done upsets in the past as well so I know how it feels both ways.

"I think the players did a very good job in delivering the type of tennis they wanted to do. They were brave, they were aggressive and there were some tough moments, especially in the doubles match. We didn’t want to lose that and then suddenly the day starts to change a little bit. I think everyone has done a great job and we’ve really enjoyed it here.

"We have to wait and see what happens between Australia and Ecuador. One would be at home, which is Ecuador, and the other would be the other side of the world after the US Open which is a challenge. Wherever it is, we’ve loved this week here and look forward to playing the next round, whoever that might be."

Tennis Weekly Podcast

@tennisweeklypod

·Follow

Jack Draper impressed on his first match back and was happy with his performance after such a long time out of the game 💪

5:27 PM · Feb 6, 2026

Read more on X

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

Preview WTA Qatar Open 2026 | Swiatek and Anisimova look to add to prior success in Doha while Rybakina hunts for more glory on big stage

"When the ‘Haide’s’ come out, it means that I’m getting really gritty": Half-Romanian Emma Raducanu brings out mantra in Cluj run