Jack Draper said the abuse he received during his thrilling five-set Australian Open comeback win over home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis inspired him to raise his level as the British No 1 reached the third round of the grand slam for the first time.

Draper was heckled throughout the four-and-a-half-hour contest at a raucous John Cain Arena, with Australian supporters cheering missed first serves from the British player as Kokkinakis closed in on victory.

Kokkinakis, who afterwards revealed he played through a torn pectoral muscle, served for the match in the fourth set but Draper survived and completed a stunning escape before midnight.

Draper held his finger to his ear at several points during the 6-7 (3) 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory, with chair umpire Marijana Veljovic struggling to contain the home fans and control the atmosphere.

Draper is likely to face a similar scenario when he plays Australian Aleksandar Vukic in the third round but the 23-year-old said that the hostile crowd gave him energy and made him play better.

He took a very different approach to compatriot Jacob Fearnley, who largely ignored the crowd during his first-round win over Australian Nick Kyrgios, with Draper choosing his moments to give some back.

“It was amazing,” Draper said. “Obviously an electric atmosphere. I was getting quite a lot of abuse from the crowd in between serves and at the back of the court, all that stuff.

“Sometimes you don’t want to rile them or give it back. But to be fair, it gave me energy doing that. There were times where I was down, then I came through a tough game. It gave me energy giving it back, give it a bit of an ear.

“They are saying stuff to me, some interesting things for sure. You can probably imagine. In between serves, the whistling, the talking. I mean, it’s all fun but when you’re about to serve, it’s really difficult. I have a thick skin. It’s fun.”

Draper came into the Australian Open with concerns over his physical condition after missing much of his pre-season with a hip injury, but the 15th seed has now survived two five-set matches in a row to reach the third round.

There was a notable improvement in Draper’s performance levels from his opening win over Mariano Navone and, although he believes there is more to come, he is taking pride in how his body is holding up as he looks to build on last season’s run to the US Open semi-finals.

“It’s been really difficult in the last few years with question marks over long matches and backing up performances,” Draper said. “I wouldn’t say I’m playing my best tennis. Obviously, I’ve had a tough preparation, but I’m proud of my mentality, my body and the way I competed.

“It’s a huge step forward. I’ve been working physically for a long time. As a young player, when you come into these big events, you have to deal with the media, the crowds. It was a bit too much for me at the start.

“I feel like, especially at the back end of last year, I built a lot of confidence in myself, a lot of belief. I think winning titles and making the semi-finals of the US Open, it gave me that security in my mind that I’m good enough and I’m doing the right things.

“It has given me calmness as well. Instead of carrying a lot on my shoulders, I feel a lot calmer. I feel a lot more relaxed.”

There was a sense of deja vu for Kokkinakis, who suffered another heartbreaking defeat to a British player after losing from two sets up to Andy Murray in the second round of the Australian Open two years ago.

The 28-year-old revealed he played through injury and said he would not have been able to play the next match even if he had won. Kokkinakis is now expecting to be sidelined for a significant time as a result of aggravating the problem.

“Shoulder was gone before the match. I just tried to tough it out,” he said. “I was touch-and-go again to play this week. Took a million painkillers to try and get through.

“I knew after I had some serious decisions to make, and I’m going to miss some time. I just tried to kind of empty the tank today and for this week and see what I can do.

“I put myself in a winning position. I didn’t have enough to get over, so that’s annoying. I was seething [at the end]. I had steam coming out of my ears. Nothing against him. I just knew my future was looking bleak.”

Meanwhile, Fearnley reached the third round on his Australian Open debut with a comeback victory over Arthur Cazaux. Fearnley dropped the first set after a rain delay but the Scot did not blink and came back to win 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-3. His astonishing rise will continue when he plays the second seed Alexander Zverev on Friday for a place in the last-16.

Jodie Burrage gave World No 3 Coco Gauff a brief scare at the Rod Laver Arena but fell to a straight-sets defeat. Burrage served to level the match in the second set but Gauff recovered to win the final four games of a 6-3 7-5 win.

Harriet Dart is also out after briefly threatening an upset against Olympics runner-up and 18th seed Donna Vekic. Dart won the opening set but managed just two more games, as Vekic came from behind to win 4-6 6-0 6-2.