British No 1 Jack Draper made a successful comeback on his Doha debut after beating Alexei Popyrin in straight units to achieve the second spherical of the Qatar Open.
Draper was again in motion for the primary time in over a month since he retired when two units right down to Carlos Alcaraz on the Australian Open.
The 23-year-old had beforehand been troubled by a hip drawback within the weeks main as much as Melbourne.
However Draper regarded in respectable form as he broke big-serving Australian Popyrin twice when racing to the primary set in simply 27 minutes.
The second set was a tighter affair, with Draper having to save lots of a set level at 5-6.
However he stood up properly within the tie-break, ending the job with a pair of aces to come back by a great take a look at of his health 6-2 7-6 (4).
Draper will face one other Australian, qualifier Christopher O’Connell, within the second spherical of the match, reside on Sky Sports activities.
If he wins that, Draper might meet Novak Djokovic, who can also be again from harm and searching for a one centesimal profession ATP title, within the quarter-finals.
Djokovic faces Italian former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini within the first spherical on Tuesday.
Story of the Tape
Alcaraz overcomes Cilic in straight units
High-seeded Carlos Alcaraz overcame Croatian veteran Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 to achieve the final 16 on the Qatar Open.
The 36-year-old Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion who has fallen to No 192 within the rankings, was taking part in his first match of the season after recovering from a long-term knee harm.
The Croatian led 4-3 and 0-40 on Alcaraz’s serve within the second set, however the Spanish four-time main winner managed to recuperate after which broke within the subsequent recreation.
“I am just really happy that I stayed calm at that moment, breathing, going through my routines, making good points,” Alcaraz mentioned. “That’s why I was able to win in two sets.”
Daniel Dubois v Joseph Parker and the Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol rematch shall be reside on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports activities Field Workplace. E-book now!
