British teenager Jack Draper’s ATP Tour debut ended abruptly after he collapsed on court during his first round match at the Miami Open against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin on Thursday.
The sunny, humid and hot conditions on Court 2 appeared to have taken a toll on the 19-year-old wildcard during the first set which lasted 81 minutes.
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With Kukushkin leading the set 6-5, Draper appeared distressed and he had his heart-rate checked courtside by medical staff before deciding to continue.
Draper’s return was short-lived as he fell to the ground while attempting to keep the ball in play on set point, rolling onto his back as medical staff quickly came to his aid.
Feel better 🙏🏻
Jack Draper had to retire after the first set of his battle with Mikhail Kukushkin. Here, Kukushkin looks on as Jack gets to his feet 👏#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/nPWge82Z6S
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 25, 2021
With Kukushkin sealing the set 7-5, Draper retired.
“At the changeover, I was starting to feel my body a bit,” said Draper.
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“I said that I’m going to carry on because I wasn’t feeling faint… But obviously when I got out there, that wasn’t the case. On the last point, I didn’t collapse. I actually just tripped because I was starting to feel really dizzy and stuff.”
Draper had an ice pack placed on his neck at the end of the first set before he walked off court.
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“In the last couple of hours, I have been with physios, trying to recover as best as possible, just trying to look after myself and move forward.”
