Jack Draper reacts to tough Wimbledon draw after being paired with Taylor Fritz

The Brit learned his fate while still competing at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to France's Ugo Humbert.

With Draper – from Sutton in Surrey – unseeded following his injury lay-off, he knew there was every chance of being handed a difficult opener at the All England Club.

That proved to be the case when he was paired with American star Fritz, one of the strongest grass-court players on the ATP Tour.

"It's definitely a tricky one," Draper said, cueing a few laughs in the pressroom, at the intentional understatement.

"I was prepared that I was going to play someone who's a top seed. I'm not seeded myself.

"I've lost my ranking. I've lost my seeded place in the Slam. I have to work up my rankings to get that back.

"It's a lottery really. Obviously Taylor is a great player. We've played multiple times already.

"It's going to be a really good battle. It's going to be a tough match. I'm looking forward to it."

Although Draper has enjoyed success against Fritz in previous meetings, the 24-year-old believes their head-to-head record will have little bearing on Tuesday's encounter.

"I think I played him four years ago. I don't really think of that.

"I think we played maybe once or twice last year. I haven't played him on grass for a long time.

"He's a top player on grass. Against these top players, you can look at head-to-head all you want, but it's all about what happens on the day, in the pressure moments, the big moments.

"Especially on grass, it's small margins.

"Of course, I can take confidence that I've got a winning record against Taylor, but I also haven't been on the court for about a year.

"He's been playing well and, like I said, it's going to be a really, really tough match, but one I'm definitely looking forward to."

Despite his Eastbourne semi-final defeat to Ugo Humbert, Draper believes the week has given him the ideal platform heading into Wimbledon after his return from injury.

"I'm really happy that I've been able to get four matches played. I haven't done that since Queen's last year, which is a long time,” he said.

"I've been really happy with my competitiveness. I've been happy with the way my body's been feeling in general.

"I've been happy with my level as well. It's not easy to come out and play matches straight away against top players."

Draper also revealed his immediate plans before Wimbledon gets under way, with new coach Andy Murray continuing to be part of his support team.

Hr said: "I think we'll firstly debrief on this week.

"I think it's been a really positive week for me. It's been amazing to have him in my corner and I think it's just the start.

"I'll probably have a day off tomorrow and then have a good couple of days preparing at Wimbledon before I play Tuesday.

"There's no mad things that are going to be going on. I just need to get over today, reset and go again for next week."