Jack Draper's clay-court season got off to a disappointing start as he was forced to retire due to an injury in the third set of his first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open. Draper had won the first set 6-3, but struggled with his movement thereafter and had to have his right knee taped by a physio. Despite his efforts, he trailed 4-1 in the third set before withdrawing from the match. Draper, who is ranked one spot higher than Etcheverry, had shown promise in the first set but was hindered by his knee from the start of the second set.
Etcheverry, who had recently taken world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets in Monte Carlo, took control of the match and praised Draper as a 'great competitor' and 'great fighter.' 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 next scheduled to play 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 grueling three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. Norrie won the first set 6-4, but Wawrinka took the second set to a tiebreak, forcing a deciding set.
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 physically well during the match 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. Boulter, who is the British No.
3, is targeting a good run in Rouen and potentially her first clay-court title.