Jack Draper's clay-court season got off to a disappointing start as he was forced to retire injured in the decisive third set of his first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open. Despite winning the first set in his first match since being eliminated in the second round of the Miami Open on March 20, Draper struggled with his movement and had to have his right knee taped by a physio during the break between the second and third sets.
However, after losing the second set 6-3, Draper was broken for the second time and trailed Etcheverry 4-1 in the third set before withdrawing from the match. Draper, ranked one spot higher than his opponent in the ATP rankings, had started strong, taking the first set 6-3, but was clearly hindered by his knee from the start of the second set, allowing Etcheverry to take control. Etcheverry, who had taken world No.
2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets on clay in Monte Carlo the previous week, praised Draper, saying, "He was playing unbelievably... He's a great competitor, a great fighter, and hopefully, he can recover soon to get back on tour because the tour likes him." This was only Draper's fourth tournament back on the ATP Tour since a left-arm injury kept him sidelined since last August's US Open, with Etcheverry being the eighth match of his return. Draper is next scheduled to play at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid from April 22, where he reached the final last year before losing to Casper Ruud. Meanwhile, Etcheverry will face either Portugal's Nuno Borges in the second round at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
In other news, British No. 1 Cameron Norrie advanced to the second round after a grueling three-set match against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4. Norrie, who didn't feel well physically, had to dig deep mentally to secure the win, saying, "I had to really dig deep and get fired up in some moments, and I managed to do that in the third set when I was a couple of break points down." Norrie will now face American Ethan Quinn in the second round. Additionally, Katie Boulter eased into the last 16 of the Rouen Open with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win over Maria Timofeeva, bouncing back from last week's tight first-round defeat to Elena-Gabriela Ruse in Linz.
With many top players competing in Stuttgart, Boulter is aiming for a good run in Rouen and potentially her first clay-court title of her career.