No Draper drama as British hope races past injured Baez in Wimbledon opener

LONDON :Britain's Jack Draper was handed the prime-time early evening slot to get his Wimbledon campaign up and running and spared his fans any fingernail biting as he eased past Argentina's injured Sebastian Baez in double quick time on Tuesday.

A dominant Draper was leading 6-2 6-2 2-1 on a boiling Court One when Baez, who hurt his knee earlier in the contest when slipping on the baseline, decided enough was enough with only one hour and 14 minutes on the clock.

Home fans without tickets had parked themselves on the sun-baked hill adjacent to Court One and those watching at home on TV on their sofas for the entrance of world number four Draper.

But on a day when many top men's seeds withered in the scorching temperatures, 23-year-old Draper dispensed with any drama and got the job done in ruthless fashion.

Left-hander Draper, the highest British seed at Wimbledon since Andy Murray returned as defending champion in 2017, will need all his mental and physical reserves to navigate the pitfalls of Wimbledon under an intense spotlight.

He has been saddled with trying to fill the void left by the retirement of twice champion Murray, and avoiding drawn-out early round matches, the like of which Murray sometimes inflicted on his legion of fans, is no bad thing.

Although, speaking on court, Draper said he would have perhaps preferred a slightly tougher test.

"I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty. It is no way to win like that and I wish Sebastian the best in his recovery of course," Draper, who has rocketed up the rankings after reaching the U.S. Open semi-final last year, said.

Draper will have a much sterner test in the next round when he faces big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic, a player who won the U.S. Open and also reached