He expressed confidence that overcoming adversity provides a distinct psychological advantage as he enters future tournaments.
"And even though my ranking slipped and I haven't played, when you go through a lot of struggles and a lot of setbacks, it definitely gives you the mental fortitude to think: 'I've got something a little bit extra to these guys because of what I've gone through,'" said Draper.
When questioned during his pre-tournament press conference about whether he worried his professional career was permanently compromised, Draper dismissed the ultimate concern.
"Not at all," said Draper.
However, the left-handed player acknowledged lingering uncertainties regarding the pace of his competitive recovery.
"[I thought I might] potentially never be the same. You can always get quite obsessed with the moment in time that's going on.
But, yeah, obviously the next question mark is how quickly I'm able to get back to being at the top again," said Draper.
Draper revealed that during his last appearance 69 days ago at the Barcelona Open against Tomas-Martin Etcheverry, severe inflammation severely hindered his performance.
"I couldn't really land on my serve. It [his knee] was extremely inflamed.
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I had a couple of holes in the tendon. I couldn't be the player I wanted to be out there.
I was at 30 per cent of what I can do," said Draper.
Addressing his historical tendency to play through discomfort, Draper observed that managing physical pain remains an inherent demand of elite tennis.
