The victory was the Spaniard's first on tour since winning his first Grand Slam singles title, the U.S. The 45th-ranked British player broke Alcaraz's service twice and made just three unforced errors in the first set.Īlcaraz raised his game in the second set and forced two service breaks without allowing Draper a chance.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz and 20-year-old Draper had a combined age of less than Federer's 41 years, and both were playing for the first time at Basel where he won a record 10 titles from 2006-19.
But the Swiss great ended his career last month because of a persistent knee injury. The first Basel tournament since before the COVID-19 pandemic was intended to be Roger Federer's hometown comeback on tour.
Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz rallied to beat Jack Draper 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Monday.Īlcaraz clinched with his third match-point chance, firing a forehand winner when following in a strong serve that left-hander Draper stretched to return.
