Davis Cup: Jack Draper beats Viktor Durasović to give Great Britain the lead over Norway in the qualifiers

Jack Draper secured an emphatic win after his long-awaited return from injury to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Norway in a Davis Cup qualifier.

Draper, Britain’s number one, spent five months out of action with a bone bruise in his service arm.

His return was delayed twice due to injury and he missed the Australian Open in January to complete his recovery.

However, he served well, moved sharply and showed some powerful strokes to give Viktor Durasovic a 6-2, 6-2 win in his first competitive match in 164 days.

Tests will await for Sterner, ranked 13th in the world, for Draper, who is 300 places ahead of Durasovic, but he will feel relieved after his convincing victory after a long period of layoff.

“It was a difficult time but I knew I had to keep training and keep learning about myself,” the 24-year-old said.

Cameron Norrie will face Nikolai Budkov-Kerr later on Thursday in a best-of-five showdown.

Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash will compete in a doubles match on Friday, with two singles matches to follow if the match has not been decided by then.

The winner of the Oslo match will face Australia or Ecuador for a place in the finals, which will be held in November, with the participation of eight teams.