Jack Draper began his Indian Wells title defense with a three-set victory over Roberto Bautista Agut, advancing to the third round.
The British number one lost the first set 6-3 but came back strongly to win the last two sets 6-3, 6-2.
He started the first game of the tournament brightly, earning three break points, but Bautista Agut parried them well to hold serve.
Bautista Agut attacked in the sixth game of the first set, securing a break and increasing his lead to 4-2. He then secured the break and held serve in the next game to take the set.
But Draper fought back fiercely. He broke Bautista Agut early in the second set with a backhand winner down the line. Then, they held on to their love and took a commanding lead of 3-0, taking the set from there.
He was decisive in the third set, grabbing three break points in the third game and winning the first of them.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Jack Draper says another win at Indian Wells means a lot to him after missing tennis so much
Bautista Agut threatened to break back in the sixth game, but Draper marshalled him to continue his progress.
The Englishman broke for serve for the match. Bautista Agut tried to fight back from a 40-0 deficit, but Draper did not give up and won the match.
En route to winning the Indian Wells title last year, Draper defeated world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and then Denmark’s Holger Ruhn in the final.
Having just returned from a lengthy injury break, he will find it hard to repeat his heroics this year.
“It felt great,” Draper told Sky Sports Tennis. “I’m happy to be back at a place where I have great memories, but I’m also a little underprepared because I didn’t play tennis.
“The injury I had wasn’t just for a few weeks. It was eight months. I missed a lot of competitive tennis, so I feel that. I’m a little out of sorts. In practice my level is good, but when it comes to the match court, I’m definitely a little bit more and less consistent. But I think it’s going to come.”
“Today we played against a really tough opponent,” Draper continued. “He played really well in the first set. It’s not easy to play here in these conditions. We know from last year that these conditions reward players who are aggressive, focusing on the forehand and especially the way they react off the surface of the ball. I felt like we really did that in the second set.”
“These wins mean a lot to me, especially coming back to the tour.
“I hope I can continue to progress from here with the way I want to play.”
British tennis achieved further success when Sonay Kartal defeated American Emma Navarro.
The match went to a third set tiebreak, with Kartal winning 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).
Jannik Sinner also had a strong performance, defeating Dalibor Svrčina 6-1, 6-1, and Iga Swiatek defeated Kayla Day 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).
Watch the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells live on Sky Sports until March 15th. Stream tennis now with no contract required.
