Jack Draper may have lost his Davis Cup match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo but he did not lose any of his candour afterwards, saying: “It’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity.”

The world No 20, who played in the US Open semi-finals last week, played well against the Argentine who is ranked No 31 but seemed tired from his body language and movement, though he did not use that as excuse for the defeat.

It put Great Britain in a very precarious position to qualify for the Davis Cup finals in Malaga in November after Dan Evans also was beaten by his Argentine opponent Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Draper, 22, sounded almost exhausted as he described his season thus far after his 7-6, 7-5 defeat.

“It’s a mental calendar. Since Miami time I just haven’t had any time. We went straight into the clay, then straight on to the grass, straight to the Olympics, straight out to Montreal, Cincinnati, training week, US Open, here, then it’s Asia, then it’s indoor season.

“It’s my opinion that it’s going to be very hard for players of my age to achieve longevity any more.

“I look at the sort of schedule and I know players have done it for years, but the way the ATP have changed to two weeks with the Masters and these types of things, it’s giving us no time any more. There’s literally no break. It’s really mentally and physically challenging.

“It’s not that match, it’s the cumulative load over a long period of time. That match was extremely draining, then I had the flight home, dealing with the jet-lag.

“I got home, I tried to not nap during the day so I didn’t mess up my sleep and try to relax, take my mind off tennis.

“When we get a few days off, it’s important to not think too much about tennis, otherwise it becomes way too much. I had a couple of days with my family, enjoyed a bit of London which I never see any more, then got up here on the train and was with the team.

“With the US Open and coming here, I’ve been going for a long time. I’m proud of myself for being here with the team, playing for my country. I didn’t get it done today, but I’m going to have many more chances.”