Landaluce beats Draper: A Bitter Return In Cincinnati

Martin Landaluce beat Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and fifty-six minutes in the first round in Cincinnati. It was the first meeting between the two. For the Briton it was his second match since returning from injury: he entered the draw on a wild card, ranked 143 in the world.

Draper has been living since August 2025 with a problem in his left arm, the one he serves with. Back then he withdrew from the US Open, where he was the No. 5 seed. A relapse also kept him out of Wimbledon and made him miss all three Slams of 2026. In twelve months the rankings have taken him from No. 5 to No. 143. In Montreal, again on a wild card, he lost on his comeback and told the press conference that he had been in tears on court, saying he was in the position of someone who has to start over.

Landaluce is twenty and ranked 64 in the world. His season has two dates that count: the Miami quarter-finals in March, reached from qualifying after knocking out Darderi, Khachanov and Korda, and the Rome quarter-finals in May, having entered the draw as a lucky loser. In between, his entry into the top 100 in April.

Draper's plan was to use the American hard courts to find his rhythm again before the US Open. Cincinnati gave him less than two hours.