Jack Draper's return to clay courts was cut short due to an injury, forcing him to retire in the third set of his first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open. Draper had a promising start, winning the first set 6-3, but struggled with his movement in the subsequent sets. Despite being ranked higher than his opponent, Draper was hindered by a knee issue from the start of the second set, which Etcheverry capitalized on to take control.
Etcheverry praised Draper, saying, 'He was playing unbelievable... He is a great competitor, a great fighter, and hopefully, he can recover soon to get back on tour.' This was Draper's fourth tournament since his return to the ATP Tour after a left-arm injury kept him sidelined since last August's US Open. Draper is scheduled to play next at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid from April 22. Meanwhile, British No 1 Cameron Norrie secured a spot in the second round with a hard-fought three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
Norrie, who will face American Ethan Quinn in the next round, said, 'I was not feeling well physically, so I had to dig deep mentally.' Elsewhere, Katie Boulter advanced to the last 16 of the Rouen Open with a dominant 6-2 6-2 victory over Maria Timofeeva, keeping her hopes alive for a first clay-court title.