Former world No. 4 Jack Draper said he has been forced to watch his own decline, as a result of injuries which have allowed him to complete just eight competitive matches this year.Draper rose to his career-high ranking last year, after winning the BNP Paribas Open, his first ATP Masters 1000 title. But injuries to his left, playing arm and right knee have seen him miss the past two Grand Slams, and he will fall to No. 160 in the men’s rankings when they update Monday.Speaking to reporters at the Eastbourne Open in England, the 24-year-old said he does not consider himself “an injured athlete,” but rather “unlucky” with a string of physical problems.“I was top-10 in the world, doing great things, and you’re losing your ranking every week, you’re just watching yourself,” Draper said.“It’s not like a football team where you can have a substitute come in and take your place. It’s like you’re kind of watching your decline. So, it’s tough, but I think I’ve learned a massive amount about my body in the last year and my recovery.”Draper’s last appearance came at the Barcelona Open, where knee tendinitis he had been playing through “for months” became “extremely inflamed.” He retired from his match against Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry while down 4-1 in the deciding set of their match.Draper has since added former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray to his coaching set-up, and they have worked on biomechanical changes designed to make his aggressive, physical tennis more palatable to his body. The 24-year-old said by adapting to a platform serving stance (when players serve with two feet apart, instead of drawing them together in the pinpoint stance), he can put less strain on his left arm.Murray and Draper trained on public practice courts for the first time Saturday on the Eastbourne turf ahead of Monday’s first-round match against Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who reached the semifinals of Queen’s this week.The partnership with Murray — the most successful British male player in the modern era who had his own share of injuries — is a particularly good fit for Draper in terms of building up his confidence, he said.“I think his tennis knowledge is incredible, but more so as well … The place I’m at right now, my tennis is actually in a really, really good spot,” Draper said.“It’s just, (I) lost a lot of confidence in my body in a way, over the last year, that I’m rebuilding back again, and having someone who believes in you as a person, as a player who’s one of your biggest inspirations … Obviously, I have a great relationship with him off the court, but our relationship, I would say, is very special, and so that gives me a bit more energy, especially in a moment where I’m coming back and I need to have that good energy around me.”