British number one Jack Draper marked his return to action from injury on the ATP Tour with a straight sets victory over Frenchman Quentin Halys in Dubai.
Competing on the men’s tour for the first time since the US Open last August, Draper won 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 in his debut at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
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The 24-year-old, who slipped to 15th in the world after reaching a career high of fourth in June, will next face Hungarian Fabian Marozsan or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
Draper played his first competitive match in 164 days when he competed in the Davis Cup qualifiers earlier in February. beat Norwegian Viktor Durasovic in straight series.
But he had remained absent from singles competitions since withdrawing from the US Open before his second round match due to a left arm injury six months ago.
Draper won the prestigious Masters 1,000 title at Indian Wells and reached the fourth round of the Australian and French Opens in a promising start to his 2025 season.
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But he began suffering a bruise to a bone in his serving arm while swinging on clay in April, and the problem gradually worsened.
Determined to fully recover from the problem, Draper made the decision to miss the Australian Open in January before making his return for Great Britain on February 5.
Seeded fourth in Dubai, Draper had to withstand a set point while serving at 5-4 in the first set, but then won a tight tiebreak by winning three straight points to overcome an 8-7 deficit.
Despite opportunities in the first set for both players, the first break of serve of the competition didn’t come until the fourth game of the second set when Halys, 68, hit wide to give Draper a 3-1 lead.
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Draper cruised to an easy victory, conceding just two more points on serve as he finished the match with an impressive 86% win rate on his first serve.
The southpaw’s successful recovery from injury was also evidenced in all 19 of his 24 game-winning shots coming off his previously affected right side.
