Now ranked outside of the top 140, Draper needed a wildcard to enter the Masters 1000 event in Montreal, but started sobbing after going 1-4 down in the final set against Terence Atmane, sparking concerns that he was feeling issues with his arm again. The former world No. 4 went on to lose 6-4 2-6 6-2.
Draper has already received a wildcard into next week’s Cincinnati Open and has also signed up for the US Open mixed doubles event with world No. 3 Pegula after they stormed into the semi-finals last year, when the tournament underwent a huge revamp to entice top singles players to compete.
They had barely spoken to each other before teaming up in mixed doubles, but now have a great relationship. After seeing the emotional scenes in Montreal on Tuesday, Pegula said she “didn’t know” whether Draper’s body would allow them to revive their doubles partnership later this month.
“I know that he’s been really struggling a bit with some injuries, and I saw today he had a really tough day with his match,” Pegula said ahead of the Canadian Open, with the WTA players competing in Toronto this week.
“I mean, I don’t know if we’re going to, we’re supposed to play. Obviously I know he’s not healthy, so we’ll see how that goes. But, yeah, I’ve always since then been a very big fan, and it’s been fun to kind of watch him. He’s a really nice kid, so I enjoy playing with him.
“Yeah, it was kind of weird how our personalities somehow didn’t mix, but at the same time they did. It was kind of weird. So it was funny, and he had a lot of funny comments, so hoping that he can just get healthy and we can see him back out there.”
Reflecting on their bond, she added: “We barely knew each other. Literally don’t think we said two words to each other. Not intentionally. I don’t feel like we ran in the same circle, for whatever reason. But now, yeah, I would say we’re friends, and we kind of check in on each other every once in a while.”
Pegula is the third seed in Toronto this week and faces Magdalena Frech in her opening match. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Draper to see whether he is ready to compete in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows.