No Draper drama as British hope races past injured Baez in Wimbledon opener
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 1, 2025 Britain's Jack Draper in action during his first round match against Argentina's Sebastian Baez REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
LONDON - Britain's Jack Draper was handed the prime-time early evening slot to get his Wimbledon campaign up and running and spared his fans any fingernail biting as he eased past Argentina's injured Sebastian Baez in double quick time on Tuesday.
A dominant Draper was leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 on a boiling Court One when Baez, who hurt his knee earlier in the contest when slipping on the baseline, decided enough was enough with only one hour and 14 minutes on the clock.
Home fans without tickets had parked themselves on the sun-baked hill adjacent to Court One and those watching at home on TV on their sofas for the entrance of world number four Draper.
But on a day when many top men's seeds withered in the scorching temperatures, 23-year-old Draper dispensed with any drama and got the job done in ruthless fashion.
Left-hander Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will need all his mental and physical reserves to navigate the pitfalls of Wimbledon under an intense spotlight.
He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and avoiding drawn-out early round matches, the like of which Murray sometimes inflicted on his legion of fans, is no bad thing.
Although, speaking on court, Draper said he would have perhaps preferred a slightly tougher test.
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"I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. It is no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian the best in his recovery of course," Draper, who has rocketed up the rankings after reaching the U.S. Open semi-final last year, said.
Draper will have a much sterner test in the next round when he faces big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, a player who won the U.S. Open and also reached a Wimbledon final.
He is also seeded to meet seven-times champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Asked how he is coping with the weight of expectation on his broad shoulders, Draper said: "I don't think about it until people mention it every five minutes! I just think about what I can control and play the best tennis I can.
"I have to face whoever is in front of me, I can't be thinking about five matches ahead. I focus on whoever is up next. Everyone who is in this draw is in on their own merit, they can all play incredible tennis."
When the draw was made it seemed that Draper had been given a tough first hurdle with Baez ranked 38th in the world.
In reality it was a mismatch.
Draper's serving power and venomous forehand were too much for a player more suited to clay and the writing was on the wall for Baez when he dropped his opening service game.
The first set lasted only 25 minutes and towards the end of it the lightweight Baez slipped awkwardly when trying to change direction and early in the second set he required a lengthy check over from a doctor.
Had it been a boxing match the towel might have been thrown in by then as Draper was handing out some serious punishment with a barrage of booming groundstrokes.
Admirably Baez opted to carry on but the outcome was never in doubt and after he lost serve at the start of the third set he walked to the net and offered his hand.
Draper has now matched his best Wimbledon run, having previously made the second round twice in three visits.
This time, however, he will be expected to go much further. REUTERS
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