Draper Loses to Opelka in Miami Open Second Round

In the second round of the Miami Open on Friday, British tennis player Jack Draper suffered a straight-sets defeat to American Reilly Opelka, ending his campaign at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami Gardens, Florida. The 22-year-old Draper, seeded 25th and returning from an eight-month injury layoff, lost 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0) in a match that lasted 93 minutes, dominated by Opelka's powerful serving.

Opelka, ranked 67th and standing at 6-foot-11, unleashed 25 aces and 47 winners, preventing Draper from earning a single break point opportunity. Draper held serve throughout, facing no break points himself, but struggled to counter his opponent's aggressive style on the fast hard courts. The towering American converted three of four set points in the first-set tiebreak and sealed the second with a 6-0 lead, including a final ace clocked at 144 mph. "I didn't have many chances, especially on his serve," Draper said afterward. "I didn't get broken in the match, so that was kind of my job, right?"

Draper's loss marks a setback in his comeback from bone bruising in his left arm, which sidelined him since the US Open last year. He entered Miami after a promising run at Indian Wells, where...