Adelaide | Draper clears first hurdle

There is mixed success for Brits down-under with Team GB set to play the US in their Sydney City Final, basically the quarter finals of the United Cup, on Wednesday, while only one of the three Britons entered in the Adelaide International 1, got past the first round of the ATP 250 event.

And that success was provided by the 21-year-old Jack Draper when he comfortably defeated a qualifier from South Korea, Soonwoo Kwon 6-2 6-1 to get into the second round where he will face Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who was extended a bit by Chris O’Connell, an Aussie wildcard, before advancing 6-4 6-4.

It took Draper 69-minutes to dispatch the Korean during which time he struck 8 aces to his opponent’s 2, as he dominated with his powerful serve, saving the only three break points he faced while in contrast he broke Kwon five times from the 12 break points he raised.

Kyle Edmund plays a forehand against Jannik Sinner

Kyle Edmund, a former Australian Open semi-finalist who has been out of the game for 20 months tentatively returning to the fray last year after undergoing three surgeries, entered the draw on a Protected Ranking (PR) basis but had the misfortune to face the sixth seed from Italy, the temperamental Jannik Sinner who defeated him in just 65-minutes 6-3 6-2.

Finally, Andy Murray, the former world No.1 and three-time Grand Slam champion, got off to a disappointing start for the 2023 season.

Andy Murray's game fell off after a tight opening set

The Scot lost to Sebastian Korda in a first-round tightly contested clash with the American. In the end, it was Korda who emerged victorious, winning 6-7(3) 3-6 after an hour and 56-minutes.

Murray, an Australian Open finalist on five occasions, the loss will be a disappointment but after a very close opening set, it was the Brit’s game which fell short as Korda’s confidence grew. Murray was broken for a second time when serving to stay in the match.