Jack Draper's return to the clay courts was cut short due to an injury, as he was forced to retire in the third set of his first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open. Despite a promising start, winning the first set 6-3, Draper struggled with his movement and had to have his right knee taped by a physio during the break between sets. However, his condition worsened, and he was broken twice in the third set before deciding to withdraw from the match, trailing 4-1. Draper, who is ranked one spot higher than Etcheverry in the ATP rankings, had shown great promise in the first set but was clearly hindered by his knee issue from the start of the second set.
Etcheverry, who had previously taken world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets on clay in Monte Carlo, took control of the match and praised Draper's competitiveness, saying, 'He was playing unbelievable... He is a great competitor.
I liked how he plays. He's a great fighter, and hopefully, he can recover as soon as he can to get back on tour because the tour likes him.' This was Draper's fourth tournament back on the ATP Tour since recovering from a left-arm injury that kept him sidelined since last August's US Open.
He is scheduled to play in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid from April 22, where he was a finalist last year. Meanwhile, British No. 1 Cameron Norrie secured a spot in the second round with a grueling three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
Norrie won the first set 6-4 but was taken to a tiebreak in the second set, which Wawrinka won. However, Norrie emerged victorious in the third set, breaking Wawrinka's serve to win 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4. Norrie will face American Ethan Quinn in the next round. In other news, Katie Boulter advanced to the last 16 of the Rouen Open with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win over Maria Timofeeva.
Boulter is targeting a good run in Rouen, potentially aiming for her first clay-court title, after many top players chose to compete in Stuttgart.