Jack Draper recorded his first tour-level win in 182 days as he defeated French qualifier Quentin Halys in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, while unveiling a new buzz cut.
The British No 1 has returned from a seven-month injury lay-off, after playing just one match since Wimbledon due to bone bruising in his left arm.
He made his comeback in the Davis Cup last week as Great Britain defeated Norway, but Draper’s victory in Dubai was his first on the ATP since the US Open in August, where he withdraw after beating Federico Agustin Gomez in the first round.
Draper, who remains ranked 15th in the world despite his long absence, required one hour and 39 minutes to defeat the 68th-ranked Halys 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.
The 23-year-old was forced to save two set points in the first-set tiebreaker, before finding the only break of serve of the match midway through the second set.
Draper’s new hair, which may be inspired by Carlos Alcaraz’s accidental buzz cut from the US Open, was debuted as the former world No 4 looks to climbs back up the rankings.
“It feels so good, honestly. To be out here, to be competing in front of people. I’ve been craving the feeling of competing for, for a very long time,” Draper said.
“It just felt normal. It felt like, I was coming back to doing what I love, which is, which is being out here competing and having that adrenaline winning and losing points.
“A lot of people have helped me to get back to this position after a lot of down moments in the last eight months. It’s really not been easy to be back here, that’s something I can be really proud of and long may it continue.”
Draper said he had been hitting a “sh*tload” of serves over the past eight months and has looked to change part of his service motion since he started working with new coach Jamie Delgado.
“It’s more serving than I’ve ever done in the past because I’ve had to get my arm back to being 100 per cent and that takes time.”
He will face either Fabian Marozsan or Arthur Rinderknech in the second round.
