Jack Draper's clay-court season got off to a disappointing start as he was forced to retire from his first-round match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open due to an injury. Despite taking the first set 6-3, Draper struggled with his movement and was hindered by a knee issue that required medical attention. He eventually withdrew from the match in the third set, trailing 4-1. Draper, who is ranked higher than Etcheverry, had shown promise in the first set but was clearly affected by his knee from the start of the second set.
Etcheverry, who had recently taken world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets, praised Draper as a 'great competitor' and a 'great fighter.' Draper's early exit comes after a left-arm injury had kept him sidelined since last August's US Open, with this being only his fourth tournament back on the ATP Tour. He is next scheduled to play at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid. Meanwhile, British No 1 Cameron Norrie secured a place in the second round with a hard-fought three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. Norrie emerged victorious, winning 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4, and will now face American Ethan Quinn in the next round.
Norrie admitted to not feeling well physically but managed to 'dig deep mentally' to secure the win. 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.