British number one Jack Draper continued his superb recent form with victory over Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Paris Masters.
Draper, who won his maiden ATP 500 title in Vienna on Sunday to climb to a career-high 15th in the world rankings, needed just 68 minutes to complete a 7-5 6-2 win and will face fifth seed Taylor Fritz in the last 32.
The 22-year-old, who reached the US Open semi-finals in September, edged a tight first set courtesy of a single break of serve in the 11th game, with Lehecka committing three crucial unforced errors.
Can't stop, won't stop WINNING 📈
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024
The momentum continues for Vienna champ @jackdraper0! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/ZAxmDqM85P
Another unforced error from Lehecka, this time a double fault, gifted Draper a break of serve in the fifth game of the second set and another break soon followed to allow Draper to complete a comfortable win.
World number one Jannik Sinner had earlier withdrawn from the tournament due to a virus.
Sinner, who won the Australian Open and US Open titles this season, has been replaced in the draw by France’s Arthur Cazaux.
The 23-year-old Italian said: “It’s a very tough announcement. I’m not going to play here in Paris.
“We came here very early to prepare in the best possible way. After the first practice session I really didn’t feel good. Today I feel better already a little bit, but the body is not ready to compete and I still feel very, very weak.
This is not an easy announcement to make. My team and I arrived early to prepare as best as possible, but unfortunately, I started feeling unwell during training and saw the doctor on Sunday. It turns out I’ve come down with a virus. I’m feeling better now, but I’m still not… pic.twitter.com/TjE1a3KZQu
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) October 29, 2024
“It doesn’t make sense to go on court and try to compete for this tournament.”
Sinner has already secured the end-of-year number-one ranking and hopes to be fit for the ATP Finals in Turin from November 10-17.
“The most important part is to recover and get back physically 100 per cent,” Sinner added.
World number two Carlos Alcaraz safely progressed to the third round with a straight-sets win over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.
It's a very tough announcement. I'm not going to play here in Paris
Alcaraz, who lost to Jarry in the semi-finals in Buenos Aires in February, almost squandered a 5-2 lead in the first set before securing a 7-5 6-1 victory.
“I think I played really good tennis (in the first set), but at the end it was complicated,” Alcaraz told the ATP’s website.
“I’m just really happy to get through the opening set, it was really important for me to come into the second with more confidence. I (need) time to get used to the speed of the court.
“It’s been two years since I have won a match here in Paris-Bercy, so every time that I keep going is a gift for me.”
