JACK DRAPER says he is in a “difficult place” after a first-round defeat to Martin Landaluce at the Cincinnati Open continued his challenging comeback from injury.

Draper sent down 12 double faults and lost five games in a row on his way to being dumped out 6-3 7-5 by the world number 64.

The 24-year-old broke down in tears during a defeat to Terence Atmane at last week’s National Bank Open in Montreal, as he attempts to fight back to the top of the sport following a longstanding bone bruising issue.

Draper told the Guardian: “It’s the same as last week, the way I’m usually able to fight for every ball and conduct myself, it’s just missing.

“Obviously, the conditions and all the things that I’m changing is very hard to manage, but I think from just an internal point of view, it’s a difficult place to be right now.”

Draper has made a host of changes to attempt to reduce the strain on his left arm, including an ongoing adjustment to his service motion.

The former world number four did not blame this latest defeat on the injury but admits managing it is a constant challenge.

“It’s got to a point with me where it’s taken probably one of my biggest qualities, my fighting spirit,” he said.

“There’s a level of chronic pain that’s always with you. When you’ve got that on your playing arm — this is my life, this is my career, you know?

“When you’ve got an injury that is tough to come past and tough to understand, there’s many challenges, there’s many obstacles.”

There was some British cheer later in the day as Cameron Norrie progressed into the second round with a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over Dino Prizmic.

Norrie, who made the semi-finals in Los Cabos a fortnight ago, was broken once during a tight first set but eventually outlasted his Croatian opponent.

In the women’s draw, British number two Katie Boulter secured a hard-fought 7-5 0-6 6-4 victory over American Katie Volynets.

The 30-year-old raced into a 5-0 love lead in the first set but had to withstand a fightback from the world number 89, who levelled the match at 5-5 before Boulter rallied to take the set.

Volynets dominated the second set with a blistering whitewash but Boulter came through a tight decider, getting the decisive break at 5-4 to clinch victory.