secondround

Draper said before the tournament that he was “ready to go” despite struggling with a bruised humerus – the bone that runs from the shoulder to elbow – on his left serving arm.

He arrived in New York having not played since his second-round defeat at Wimbledon in early July, having withdrawn from key tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati in order to recover.

The Englishman competed in the US Open mixed doubles tournament alongside Jessica Pegula last week and wore a sleeve on his injured arm during his first-round match.

He admitted afterwards his presence at the tournament had been in doubt, saying: “I wasn’t too sure if I was going to make it here.”

Draper practised in New York on Wednesday morning but later announced he would be unable to continue in the tournament.

It is a bitter blow for the Briton, who had his breakout major performance in New York last year.

His ranking points from his run to the last four will drop off after the tournament, which could impact his bid to qualify for the year-end ATP Tour Finals.

British number two Cameron Norrie is out of the Cincinnati Open after suffering a second-round loss to veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.

Norrie recently beat the world number 53 in four sets at Wimbledon, with his first-round win sparking a run to the quarter-finals at the All England Club.

As the 32nd seed in Ohio, Norrie had a first-round bye before meeting the 37-year-old Spaniard, but with the temperature passing 30C, he seemed to struggle in the heat on the way to a 6-4 6-3 defeat.

Norrie’s last outing came at the Canadian Open, where he was beaten by world number 99 Aleksandar Vukic in the second round.

He continued his US Open preparations in Cincinnati and Bautista Agut did well to hold his serve following three lengthy games, while breaking Norrie’s in the fourth game.

When serving at 5-2 down, Norrie was visibly drenched in sweat and changed his shirt prior to deuce before staving off two set points.

The 29-year-old then broke back to make it 5-4 – from his sixth break point – but served a double fault in the following game, allowing Bautista Agut to clinch the first set.

Norrie continued to look unwell during the second but remained competitive, saving five match points to cut his deficit to 5-3, despite serving three double faults.

But Bautista Agut, playing just his second match since Wimbledon, made no mistake on his second match point in the following game.

After Montreal, this is the second straight tournament Norrie has fallen at his first hurdle and he has lost three of his five matches since his run at SW19 was halted by world number two Carlos Alcaraz.

BBC Sport NI’s Stephen Watson speaks to Rory McIlroy after his second-round 66 at the Masters.

The world number two from Northern Ireland is six under par going into final two rounds as he looks to complete a career ‘Grand Slam’ with victory at Augusta National.

READ MORE: Rose sets pace as McIlroy roars back