Jack Draper marked his return to competitive tennis with an impressive victory as Great Britain took early control of their Davis Cup first-round qualifier against Norway on Thursday.

The 24-year-old secured a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over world number 313 Viktor Durasovic in Oslo, playing his first competitive match since suffering a bruised bone injury last summer. Draper’s success was followed by Cameron Norrie’s straight-sets victory, giving Britain a commanding 2-0 lead after the opening day.

Currently ranked 13th in the world, Draper enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2025, claiming his first Masters titles at Indian Wells and breaking into the world’s top four before being sidelined by injury.

Reflecting on his return, Draper admitted the past months had been challenging.

“It’s been a really difficult time being away from the sport,” he told the BBC. “I had to keep working hard and learning about myself. It feels great to be back on court here in Oslo, to play my first match in a long time and put a point on the board for Great Britain.”

Draper had initially been set to face Norway’s top player Casper Ruud, but the world number 12 withdrew following the birth of his first child last week. His absence left former junior world number one Nicolai Budkov Kjaer as the highest-ranked singles player in the Norwegian team.

The 19-year-old, ranked 133rd in the world, was unable to trouble Norrie, who secured a 6-4, 6-4 victory to strengthen Britain’s position in the tie.

The qualifier concludes on Friday, with Draper set to face Budkov Kjaer, Norrie taking on Durasovic, and a doubles match also scheduled.

The winners will advance to face either Australia or Ecuador for a place in November’s eight-team Davis Cup Finals.

Elsewhere in the competition, Serbia and Chile meet in Santiago in a bid to earn a tie against Spain, Germany host Peru without world number three Alexander Zverev, France face Slovakia, and last year’s surprise semi-finalists Belgium travel to Bulgaria in Plovdiv.