Jack Draper's clay-court campaign got off to a dismal start as he was forced to retire from his first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open due to an injury. Despite taking the first set 6-3, Draper struggled with mobility issues and eventually withdrew from the match while trailing 4-1 in the third set. Draper, who is ranked higher than Etcheverry in the ATP rankings, had shown promise in the first set but was clearly hindered by his knee from the start of the second set. Etcheverry, who had recently pushed world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets in Monte Carlo, took control of the match and praised Draper as a 'great competitor' and 'fighter.' This was only Draper's fourth tournament back on the ATP Tour since recovering from a left-arm injury that had kept him out since last August's US Open.
He is next scheduled to play at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid from April 22. Meanwhile, British No 1 Cameron Norrie overcame a grueling three-set match against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to advance to the second round. Norrie will now face American Ethan Quinn in the next round. In other news, Katie Boulter cruised into the last 16 of the Rouen Open with a dominant 6-2 6-2 victory over Maria Timofeeva and is targeting a strong run in the tournament.