Jack Draper's clay-court season got off to a disappointing start as he was forced to retire due to injury in the decisive third set of his Barcelona Open first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Despite taking the first set 6-3, Draper struggled with mobility issues and had to have his right knee taped by a physio between sets. However, his condition worsened, and he was broken twice in the third set before withdrawing, trailing 4-1.
Draper, ranked higher than Etcheverry, had begun strongly but was clearly hampered by his knee from the start of the second set, allowing Etcheverry to gain control. Etcheverry 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.' This was Draper's fourth tournament since returning from a left-arm injury that kept him out since last August's US Open. He is scheduled to play next at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.
Meanwhile, British No 1 Cameron Norrie overcame a tough challenge from three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 in a grueling two-and-a-half-hour match to advance to the second round. Norrie, who didn't feel physically well during the match, had to dig deep mentally to secure the win.
He will face American Ethan Quinn in the next round. In other news, Katie Boulter easily progressed to the last 16 of the Rouen Open with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Maria Timofeeva, bouncing back from her tight first-round defeat the previous week.