(Tennis news) British number 2 Dan Evans was beaten 2-6 6-2 6-3 by qualifier Ilya Ivashka in the first round while Polish 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz eliminated Jack Draper 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 in the second round. Evans took the first set comfortably but couldn’t maintain his form as Ivashka fought back and will now take on his brother-in-law Karen Khachanov. 

Dan Evans broke Ivashka in the opening game to take a 4-0 lead and claimed the first set 6-2. However, Ivashka rallied to win the first game of the second set on serve and took a 3-1 lead. Evans held to love in the sixth game of the set but passed up a break point to trail 5-2. In the third set, Evans saw another break point escape him at 3-3 before Ivashka made a decisive move in the eighth game and secured the victory.

Jack Draper was eliminated in the second round against Hubert Hurcakz. The British number 4 lost the first set but came back into the match in a second set tie-break. The 21 year old trailed 4-2 in the third set but broke back immediately to level 4-4, working himself within a point of the deciding tie-break at 5-6. However, his Polish opponent then won five consecutive points to take the win and progress into the next round.

After a month’s absence, reigning World Number 1 Novak Djokovic defeated qualifier Ivan Gakhov 7-6 (7-5) 6-2. The Serbian had not played since early March as he was ineligible to compete at the Indian Wells and Miami Open due to his vaccination status. His lack of match practice was evident as he struggled to find his range on the clay court but he still managed to win in straight sets. 

In other results, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed in the third round after his opponent Benjamin Bonzi was forced to retire due to a wrist injury. German player Alexander Zverev defeated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 3-6 6-2 6-4 while Spanish players Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are absent due to injuries.

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