Jack Draper enjoyed his return to the ATP Tour by defeating Quentin Harris in straight sets at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
Draper, who had been recovering from a “bone bruise” injury to his left arm since losing in the second round to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon, defeated his French opponent 7-6 (10-8, 6-3) in his first tour appearance since last summer’s US Open.
The newly shaved Brit made his return to court earlier this month with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Viktor Durasovic in the Davis Cup match against Norway.
“Honestly, it feels great to be able to go out here and compete in front of people,” Draper said after defeating Harris.
“Today was a tough opponent. He was tricky, his serve was great, and from my side I could have done it a little better, but I haven’t played on tour for a long time, so I’m really proud of my result today. I hope we can continue to work together.”
“I think I’ve been craving the feeling of competing for a long time. It was normal. I felt like I was back doing what I love, which is competing, feeling the adrenaline of winning and losing points.”
“A lot of people have helped me get back to this position after being down so many times over the past eight months. It wasn’t easy getting back here. This is something I’m really proud of and long may it continue to be.”
Draper won 86 percent of his first serves and had 13 aces, but converted only one of his five break point opportunities.
In the next round he will face the winner of the match between Fabian Marossan and Arthur Rinderknek.
The first set was close, but Draper hit nine aces en route to the tiebreak, saving three set points and winning in 1 hour and 6 minutes.
Harris was on his side from the start in the second set, but Draper converted a crucial break point in the fourth game and took control of the match.
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