Trailing by two sets to one in the fourth set of an uncomfortable, frustrating encounter with Mariano Navone, his presence in Melbourne already hanging in the balance, Jack Draper walked warily to the baseline to save a break point. For much of his time on court in his first-round match at the Australian Open, Draper had looked flat, tired and out of ideas. It seemed like he did not have much more to give.

Draper responded to adversity by giving an important demonstration of his determination and grit as he pulled himself back from the brink of defeat against Navone before finding a way into the second round with a resolute 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory after more than four hours.

“I think I showed a lot of heart today,” he said. “Wasn’t pretty at all. Was nowhere near my best. Sometimes it’s about showing some heart. I’m really, really proud of that today. I think that’s a big win.”

After such a brilliant end to the season, Draper’s hopes of maintaining his top form faded. He arrived in Australia in less than ideal circumstances after sustaining a hip injury during the off-season which forced him away from the court and left him with little time to be fully prepared for the first grand slam tournament of the year. His withdrawal from the United Cup meant he had no prior match play before the Australian Open.

“I spoke with my coach last night, and we were saying I finished the year really strong. Obviously a lot of matches, a lot of confidence, moving great, playing great. I built a lot of work over time,” Draper said. “In the last month I obviously didn’t play for maybe three weeks. I was in a lot of pain with my back and my hip. It was a really difficult period for myself where I wasn’t able to get any work for my body really. I wasn’t able to play.

“I came here and have been building up slowly. That’s the thing. We said it’s not going to feel the same as the back end of last year. I’m going to have to play matches again, build up that confidence, I’m going to have to feel comfortable in my body and earn the wins.

“Today it wasn’t pretty at all, but I have a feeling that the more matches I play, the more points I build up, the more I put myself in match situations, my tennis is going to get a lot better.”

From the beginning, Draper’s lack of preparation was reflected in his form. He struggled badly to hit his spots with his first serve and his timing was off from the baseline. While Draper was extremely tentative, oscillating between loose errors and rolling groundstrokes into the court, Navone rightfully played like a competitor with little to lose. Despite pulling the match level at one set all, Draper’s forehand completely fell apart in the second set as he began to struggle with the long, attritional rallies Navone continually dragged him into.

By the fourth set, Draper looked completely worn out. He walked gingerly between points and his footwork had deteriorated as he bailed out of most extended rallies with desperate drop shots. He looked exhausted as he trailed Navone by two sets to one and faced two break points at 2-2 in the fourth set. When it truly mattered, though, the British No 1 dug deep and found the energy and resolve to turn around the match, keep himself in the tournament and craft another chance to find his best tennis.

A year ago, as Draper dragged himself over the line against Marcos Giron in his first five-set victory, he ended the match by vomiting into a nearby rubbish bin. Despite his struggles on Monday, this victory demonstrated his progress and growth as he looked strong in the fifth set and played some of his best tennis when it mattered.

“I felt like I could barely move towards the end of that [Giron] match,” he said. “Today, even with some bad preparation, after four hours I felt like I could keep on going for longer and longer. I think it’s a real positive. I’m obviously nowhere near where I want to be still. But considering my preparation, the year before I had a really good pre-season, feeling good. I think I’ve come on a long way in the last year.”

Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner, the top seed, secured a tough 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-1 win against Nicolás Jarry. The world No 1 was joined in round two by Carlos Alcaraz, who triumphed 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 against Alexander Shevchenko. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 11th seed, continued to struggle badly as he was defeated 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 by Alex Michelsen.