Alcaraz wins testing Queen’s opener, Draper cruises

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz came through a testing first-round match against Australia´s Adam Walton at Queen´s on Tuesday as the top seed returned to action for the first time since his dramatic French Open triumph.

The Spaniard, back on grass for the first time since winning his second Wimbledon title last year, beat his 86th-ranked opponent 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on a sweaty day in west London. Alcaraz, who overcame Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros earlier this month, edged ahead after a hard-fought break in the seventh game of the first set.

Walton clung on his next service game but the 2023 Queen´s champion closed out the set on his own serve. The Australian rallied impressively and had two set points to level the match but could not covert either of them and Alcaraz pulled level at 5-5.

The second set went to a tie-break, which was a tight affair until a Walton backhand into the net gave Alcaraz two match points and he fired a forehand cross-court winner to progress. British second seed Jack Draper dispatched American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-1 to reach the second round.

The left-hander, who has previously beaten Sinner and Alcaraz at Queen´s, won 93 percent of first-serve points and did not face a break point in a dominant display. Draper, who will be under huge pressure to perform in front of home fans at Wimbledon, is chasing his second title on grass after winning in Stuttgart last year.

He will next face Alexei Popyrin in the second round after the Australian beat compatriot Aleksandar Vukic. Earlier, Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka upset rusty fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-2 in the opening match on the Andy Murray Arena. Australia´s De Minaur, who was playing on grass for the first time this season, committed 28 unforced errors.