Draper earns first grass-court win of season in Stuttgart

pa href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jack-draper/d0co/overview'Jack Draper/a made a winning return to grass on Monday at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/stuttgart/321/overview'BOSS OPEN/a in Stuttgart, where he defeated a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/sebastian-ofner/o513/overview'Sebastian Ofner/a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to earn his first tour-level victory on the surface outside of Great Britain./p

pThe 22-year-old missed the grass swing last season due to injury but has performed impressively on the surface in the past, reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event in Eastbourne in 2022./p

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pDraper looked comfortable against Ofner in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, rallying from a break down in the second set to advance after one hour and 40 minutes. The lefty will next face former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andy-murray/mc10/overview'Andy Murray/a or American a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marcos-giron/gc88/overview'Marcos Giron/a./p

p"I thought it was a really good match," Draper said. "I thought we both played clean tennis, both of us were executing really well. When it came down to it I think I competed really well and I am glad to get over the line. It is good to be back on grass as well."/p

pIn other action, Germany's a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/dominik-koepfer/ke73/overview'Dominik Koepfer/a clawed past Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(6). The home favourite saved two match points in the third-set tie-break before eventually advancing on his first match point after two hours and 37 minutes. It is the first time Koepfer has won a tour-level match on grass since 2021, when he beat a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/soonwoo-kwon/kf17/overview'Soonwoo Kwon/a in the second round at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a./p

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pKoepfer, who is making his second appearance in Stuttgart, will next meet fifth seed a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lorenzo-musetti/m0ej/overview'Lorenzo Musetti/a or French wild card a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/giovanni-mpetshi-perricard/m0gz/overview'Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard/a./p

pIn an-all German clash, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/yannick-hanfmann/h997/overview'Yannick Hanfmann/a defeated wild card a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/henri-squire/s0ak/overview'Henri Squire/a 6-3, 6-3. Hanfmann did not face a break point according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance after 63 minutes. The 32-year-old next plays defending champion Frances Tiafore./p

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