Jack Draper made a winning return to the ATP Tour on Monday, defeating Quentin Halys to advance at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The British number one saved two set points in the first set before securing a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Halys in the UAE.
It was the perfect start for Draper, who will face Arthur Rinderknech or Fabian Marozsan in the next round.
Draper missed the majority of the 2025 season due to a left-arm injury and had not played a competitive match for five months until his return at the Davis Cup earlier this month.
After securing his second consecutive competitive victory in Dubai, Draper discussed the important adjustments he has made.
Jack Draper discusses his serving adjustments
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Draper said: “Firstly, my serve was always a good shot, but it could’ve been more consistent over time, and it’s something I looked at in terms of not only my serve mechanics in the way that I’m maybe putting some stress on my arm.
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“In 2023, I had an injury on my pec, and then obviously this one had the bone stress. So I’m always looking at myself to see how I can get better and this was one thing.
“And maybe it’s helped my serve in the long run, because not only have I changed this, but I’ve hit a s*** load of serves in the last eight months
“And it’s more serving than I’ve ever done in the past because I have to get my arm back to being 100 per cent, and that takes time.”
Against Halys, Draper hit 13 aces and only one double fault, while landing 69 per cent of his first serves.
| Statistical Area | Draper | Halys |
| Aces | 13 | 9 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 1 |
| First-serve percentage | 69% | 68% |
| First-serve points won | 86% | 73% |
| Second-serve points won | 62% | 57% |
| Break-point conversion | 1/5 | 0/3 |
The 23-year-old won 86 per cent of his first-serve points and 62 per cent of his second-serve attempts.
Draper will, however, hope to improve his break-point conversion in future matches. The young superstar only converted one of his five break-point opportunities.
With victory against Halys, Draper secured only his second match win since returning from injury. Earlier this month, Draper made his return at the Davis Cup, where he defeated Norway’s Viktor Durasovic in straight sets: 6-2, 6-2.
Draper’s previous match against Arthur Rinderknech
Draper could face Arthur Rinderknech in the next round, and the British star has previously played the Frenchman once on the ATP Tour.
On his debut at the event in 2022, Draper defeated Rinderknech at the Paris Masters, 6-3, 6-4.
Rinderknech has become a household name in the last six months, largely due to his incredible run to the Shanghai Masters final, where he lost to Valentin Vacherot.
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Draper went on to lose to Frances Tiafoe in the next round of the 2022 Paris Masters, 3-6, 5-7.
As for Fabian Marozsan – Draper’s other potential opponent – the Hungarian has never played Draper on the Tour.
