British youngster Jack Draper kicked off his year on the ATP Tour in impressive fashion with a two-set win over South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo in the first round of the Adelaide International 1.
The 21-year-old, whose meteoric rise landed him a place in the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, claimed a 6-2 6-1 win in just one hour and eight minutes.
After breaking in the opening game of the match, Draper quickly fell 40-0 down in his first service game but managed to stave off all three break points to seal a nervy hold.
Draper squandered three break points of his own in the fifth game, but he still saw out the first set with ease - hitting six aces and holding to love in the final game.
Soon-woo held in the opening game of the second set after coming back from 40-0 down, but a ruthless Draper embarked on a six-game winning streak to clinch a place in round two.
The British number three broke to love in the final game of the second set and now prepares for a second-round battle against either Argentina's Pedro Cachin or Russia's Karen Khachanov.
Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund will aim to join compatriot Draper in the second round when they open their Adelaide tournaments against Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner respectively on Tuesday.
Ben Knapton
