World number one Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a set down to defeat Great Britain's Jack Draper in three sets in the first round of the 2022 Swiss Indoors.
The contest pitted two youngsters aged 19 and 20 respectively against one another, and it was the Spaniard who prevailed 3-6 6-2 7-5 in two hours and 17 minutes.
An upset was threatened early doors in Basel, as the US Open champion produced a plethora of unforced errors right off the bat and had to fend off a break point before holding in the opening game.
The errors kept on coming for Alcaraz, who was broken in the third game before Draper hit a pair of aces to hold for 3-1 in a stunning start for the Brit.
Alcaraz had two chances to earn a break back in the eighth game - one of which came from a Draper double fault - but the 19-year-old failed to convert either of them as Draper held for 5-3.
Serving to stay in the first set, Alcaraz made it 16 unforced errors as Draper broke to love to go 1-0 up against the Grand Slam winner, doing so in 42 minutes.
© Reuters
A rejuvenated Alcaraz would erase the multitude of unforced errors in the second set, instead racking up his forehand winners count as he broke Draper's serve in game one.
Twenty-year-old Draper would save two break points in the third game but proceeded to net a backhand as Alcaraz's comeback continued, with the teenager quickly earning the double break to go 4-0 up.
Alcaraz would take just over half an hour to level the match up and force a third set, during which Draper needed to call over the doctor and take a tablet for an unspecified issue at 2-1 up.
A double fault then handed Alcaraz a crucial break for a 3-2 lead in the third set, but Draper was not giving up the ghost and broke back to level the set at 4-4 soon after.
However, it was now the Brit's turn to be bedevilled by unforced errors at the worst time, as Alcaraz broke for 6-5 before fending off two break point opportunities for Draper in the final game to wrap up a hard-fought victory and advance to the second round.
Either Adrian Mannarino or Botic van de Zandschulp will now come up against Alcaraz, who hit 38 winners and 34 errors in the first round, while Draper's compatriot Andy Murray will face Roman Safiullin in his first-round match on Tuesday.
Ben Knapton
