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 first-round match against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Barcelona Open. Despite taking the first set 6-3, Draper struggled with mobility and had to have his right knee taped by a physio between sets. However, he was broken twice in the third set and trailed 4-1 before withdrawing from the match. Draper, ranked higher than his opponent, had a promising start but was hindered by his knee from the second set onwards, allowing Etcheverry to take control.
Etcheverry praised Draper, saying, 'He was playing unbelievably... He's a great competitor, a great fighter.' Draper's early exit comes as his 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. Meanwhile, British No 1 Cameron Norrie overcame a grueling three-set match against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, winning 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to book his place in the second round.
Norrie will face American Ethan Quinn next. 'I was not feeling well physically, so I had to dig deep mentally,' Norrie said. 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, and is now targeting a good run in the tournament.