Draper seals comfortable Queens win over Brooksby

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Draper cruises into Queens second round - best shots

British number one Jack Draper made comfortable progress to the last 16 at Queens with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Jenson Brooksby, while top seed Carlos Alcaraz also advanced.

Spanish world number two Alcaraz was pushed well by determined lucky loser Adam Walton but got the job done in the end with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory.

Draper and Brooksby were meeting for the second time this year, with Draper beating the 24-year-old at Indian Wells in March.

On that occasion Draper had to recover from going 4-1 down in the first set but there was no such trouble this time as he broke Brooksbys serve in the seventh game before grabbing the double break to seal the set.

It was once again sweltering conditions in west London with the temperature at 26C when Draper and Brooksby entered the Andy Murray Arena, but the addition of a gentle breeze would have made things more palatable for the players.

But Draper still had no desire to hang around too long on court.

He broke Brooksby on his first service game and continued his momentum after a pause in play for a medical issue in the stands to get a second break and seal the win.

Draper, who wrote "Good to be home" on the television camera afterwards, will next face Australian Alexei Popyrin for a place in the quarter-finals.

The 23-year-old is hoping to emulate Murray and win at Queens Club. Murrays success as a five-time singles champion there has been honoured this year by having the venues centre court named after him.

"Cant get rid of this guy," Draper joked about playing in the Andy Murray Arena. "Andy is an unbelievable guy, someone Im very inspired by and I wouldnt be where I am without him.

"I definitely miss him on the Tour. Thank you Andy, this court deserves to be named after you."

Drapers compatriot Billy Harris, who reached the quarter-finals of the tournament last year, was beaten 6-1 3-6 6-4 by Gabriel Diallo of Canada.

In other action on Tuesday, there were upsets for American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton as they both went out.

Third seed Fritz came into this tournament on the back of winning the Stuttgart Open but was beaten by qualifier Corentin Moutet of France 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (9-7) 7-5. Sixth seed Shelton was stunned by lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4).

Rinderknech will next play Reilly Opelka of the United States after he beat Argentinas Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Czech Jiri Lehecka saw off Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-4 6-2 to progress to the last 16, while American Brandon Nakashima needed three sets to overcome Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

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Draper dangerous for every opponent - Croft

Brooksby only returned to professional tennis in January after a two-year absence because of injury and suspension after missing three anti-doping tests, and the signs of rust were there in this match.

But this was also an impressive showing by Draper, who ironed out some mistakes in the first few games to put in a commanding display that suggests he can go far here.

After securing his first break, Draper narrowly avoided injury when hit the advertising hoardings chasing down an overhead on his first set point, before then sealing it on the second.

In total he lost just four games on his way to victory, and it was the result he needed on his return to competitive action after he was surprisingly beaten by Alexander Bublik in the French Open fourth round.

After the match, Draper revealed he had suffered an injury scare following a fall during practice at Queens.

"I was training on the courts here and took a really heavy fall," he said.

"I was limping around for a day or so, but it wasnt anything that was going to keep me from playing."

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Exciting Alcaraz executes brilliant drop shot

Following Drapers win, top seed Alcaraz, a former champion at Queens, arrived on court having only discovered his opening-round opponent a couple of hours earlier.

The former world number one had been due to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina but he withdrew on Tuesday because of illness, meaning lucky loser Walton was called up for his main-draw debut.

Alcarazs lack of preparation for the player he would face, coupled with Waltons desire to impress, perhaps led to a surprisingly close first few games in the first set.

But a lengthy seventh game was finally won by Alcaraz on Waltons serve when the Australian sent a shot into the net, giving the Spaniard the break he needed.

That seemed to dent Waltons confidence and Alcaraz took advantage to secure a second break and take the opener.

Walton recovered from that disappointment and pushed Alcaraz all the way in the second set, but the five-time Grand Slam champion saved two set points before sealing the win in the tie-break.

This was Alcarazs first match since his epic five-set win against world number one Jannik Sinner in the French Open final earlier this month, having jetted off for a break in Ibiza between the two tournaments.

Sinner, meanwhile, is competing at the Halle Open in Germany and beat home player Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the last 16.