Jack Draper was untroubled on his way to a place in the second round at Wimbledon as his opponent Sebastian Baez retired injured.Â
The Argentine appeared to be struggling with a right knee injury and twice received medical attention during the second set before eventually withdrawing from the match three games into the third.
British No 1 Draper had been leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 at the time having not needed come out of second gear while proving he was a level above Baez, who had struggled to tame his opponent’s speed and power from the baseline.
Draper will now take on Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the next round following his straight-sets victory over Raphael Collignon.
“I wanted to play a bit longer, I was feeling I was starting to get my tennis going,” said Draper in his on-court interview.
“I was playing cleaner, it’s no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian all the best.
“I just try and focus on what I can control, it’s what I’ve always tried to do, I just come out here and try my very best, play the best tennis I can and let’s see, I’m looking forward to the next week or so.
“I focus on each player as it comes, each player in the draw is in on merit, they can play incredible tennis and you have to have respect for each one. I play point by point.”
More to follow…
Watson, Burrage and Loffhagen out as Monday gets Tuesday blues
Heather Watson went down to defeat against young Dane Clara Tauson
Heather Watson‘s latest Wimbledon campaign ended with a marathon three-set defeat to 23rd seed Clara Tauson.
The 33-year-old was among the first British players to take to the court on day two as they looked to add more home success following a record-breaking Monday.
British No 5 Watson needed a wild card to compete at her 15th Championships after slipping to 143 in the rankings.
She recovered from going a break down to win the first set by reeling off five consecutive games.
But Dane Tauson, who had never previously won a match at the All England Club, broke early in the second to draw level.
Watson had a break point for a 2-0 lead in the decider but could not convert it, and she appeared to be wilting in the 32-degree heat as the match ticked past two hours.
Tauson, 22, broke twice down the home straight to wrap up a 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory and condemn Watson to her ninth first-round defeat at the All England Club.
Johannus Monday suffered a comprehensive loss to former Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul
Hull-born Johannus Monday also exited the tournament in the first round after a straight-sets loss to American Tommy Paul on Court Three.
The 22-year-old received a wild card for both the men’s singles and doubles, and faced a significantly more experienced rival in the 28-year-old Paul, who is ranked 13th in the world and reached the quarter-finals of the Championships last year.
Paul’s passage through the first round was fairly straightforward, and it took him an hour and 43 minutes to defeat the 6ft 6in tall Briton 6-4 6-4 6-2.
“It was a very difficult match, he’s obviously a very good player,” said Monday.
“I felt a lot of pressure going into the match. Not the expectation to win, but it is a different feeling walking on to that court.
“It has always been a dream of mine to play singles at Wimbledon on a big court. There are only 12 players better than Tommy Paul at the moment so he’s a very good opponent. I just tried to savour the moment as much as I could.”
Jodie Burrage‘s bid to kickstart her comeback from injury was swiftly ended by world No 208 Caty McNally.
The 26-year-old missed much of last year, including the entire grasscourt season.
She had beaten American McNally on her Wimbledon debut in 2023 but was unable to repeat the feat and was comfortably dispatched 6-3 6-1 in an hour and four minutes
Fellow British wild card George Loffhagen lost 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 to Spain’s Pedro Martinez.
The wait for an eighth home player to reach the second round was ended at 4.48pm when Dan Evans beat fellow Briton Jay Clarke 6-1 7-5 6-2.
Monday saw seven British players record victories at the All England Club, the best tally on any day of the Championships in the Open Era.
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