Jack Draper coolly handles Wimbledon pressure by marching past Sebastián Báez

For three long weeks, as Wimbledon has gradually drawn closer, Jack Draper has had to navigate the growing anticipation within himself and from the world around him; he has had to field countless questions about his ability to handle the pressure and, in the quiet moments, he has surely wondered how he will deal with it all.

Now, finally, he can simply focus on playing tennis. Draper took his first step forward at his home grand slam as one of the best players in the world by defeating the Argentinian Sebastián Báez with a dominant performance, establishing a 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 lead by the time his opponent retired.

This occasion had been a long time coming. Over the past year, Draper has enjoyed an incredible, long-awaited breakthrough in the sport after struggling badly with injuries and physical issues during his first years on the tour. He is now the world No 4, a contender for every tournament he enters, a grand slam semi-finalist at the US Open and a Masters 1000 champion at Indian Wells.

While most British players usually enjoy some of their first notable results at Wimbledon, an unusual part of Draper’s rise is how all of his success has so far come elsewhere. Despite his significant capabilities on grass, Draper has already equalled his best career showing at Wimbledon with this victory. On Thursday, he will attempt to break new ground by passing the second round for the first time in his career. His ambitions, however, are far greater.

At No 38, Báez is one of the highest-ranked opponents that a seeded player can face but specialises in grinding opponents down in bruising, attritional clay court battles. Not only is he uncomfortable on grass, a surface he has won just three matches on in his career, Báez is also in poor form and he arrived on No 1 court with a six-match losing streak.

Jack Draper serves against Sebastián Báez. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

If Draper was feeling the nerves of this occasion, they did not last long. After spraying two forehands well long in the first few points of Báez’s opening service game, by the end of the game the fourth seed had already found his range on his forehand and he dominated almost every point with his superior weight of shot. He set the tone with an immediate break.

Draper served brilliantly, breezing through his service games, and overpowered the diminutive, underpowered 24-year-old with his forehand aggression. For his part, Báez’s performance reflected his struggles on the grass courts. He looked completely rushed for time against Draper’s imperious shot.

After taking a difficult fall late in the first set, Báez eventually called for the physio while trailing by a set and a break at 2-1 and he called out the physio again during the changeover after losing two further games. Across the net, Draper continued to pile pressure on the Argentine, rolling through to a two-set lead. After Draper sealed a break early in the third set, Báez finally opted to retire from the match.

As the match endured, there were a few amusing reminders that both Draper and the Wimbledon crowd are still growing accustomed to each other. In the opening game, the crowd groaned in anticipation of one of Draper’s forehands flying out, only for the ball to dip as it neared the baseline, landing inside the court and forcing an error from his opponent. The extreme topspin Draper generates with his forehand is a staple of his game but it takes time to understand how his destructive forehand curls into the court, inflicting maximum damage.

Sebastián Báez struggled with injury on Court No 1. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

A few games later, the sound of a cork popping champagne bottle echoed across No 1, prompting Draper’s head to spin round in search of the disturbance. This is a regular occurrence at Wimbledon, of course, but with every victory he will get a little more used to everything that comes with performing on the courts he has dreamed of competing on since he was a child.