Jack Draper Shows Grit to Advance in Cincinnati Open

Jack Draper displayed remarkable resilience to overcome a late scare and defeat Jaume Munar in the first round of the Cincinnati Open. The British number one fought back from 4-2 down in a deciding set tie-break to secure a 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-5) victory against the Spanish qualifier.

Draper's progress was marred by an abdomen issue that prompted him to call for the physio while leading 6-5 in the tie-break. Despite this setback, the 22-year-old finished strongly, clinching victory with the second of his three match points.

In the next round, Draper will face Greek ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who overcame Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff with a score of 4-6 6-4 6-3. Meanwhile, world number one Jannik Sinner advanced with a 6-4 7-5 win against American qualifier Alex Michelsen and will take on Australian Jordan Thompson in the next stage.

In women's action, British hopes were dashed as Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart were eliminated in the first round. Boulter fell 6-2 0-6 5-7 to Poland’s Magda Linette, while Dart was defeated 6-4 0-6 1-6 by Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek also had to work hard to progress, coming through a tough encounter against qualifier Varvara Gracheva. Swiatek, the world number one and top seed, won 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-2.

The Cincinnati Open serves as a final warm-up for players ahead of the US Open, the season’s last major, which starts on August 26 in New York.