Alcaraz to face Draper in stacked Basel draw; Murray v Safiullin after Korda withdrawal

The 19-year-old will be looking to bounce back from defeat in the first round in Astana last time out

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October 23, 2022

World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz will need to hit the ground running on his return to action this week in Basel after he was drawn to face in-form Briton Jack Draper, one of several mouthwatering first-round matches for the Swiss Indoors.

The US Open champion, beaten in the first round last time out in Astana, is the top seed for the ATP 500 event and will be out to win his seventh career title, having won five already in 2022.

Draper has risen from No 265 at the start of 2022 to his current mark of 48, having reached one semi-final and two quarter-finals on the ATP Tour this year.

Murray plays Safiullin after Korda withdrawal

Former world No 1 Andy Murray had been due to play Seb Korda, with the American hot-footing it from Antwerp, where he played in the final on Sunday.

But Korda, who was battling an arm injury on Sunday, withdrew late, allowing qualifier Roman Safiullin to take his place.

Murray, back inside the world’s top 50, is chasing points in an effort to achieve his immediate goal, being seeded for the Australian Open in January.

Holger Rune, who won his second career title in Stockholm on Sunday, will take on Alex de Minaur, having beaten the Australian to reach the title-decider in Sweden.

Second seed Casper Ruud plays three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, while David Goffin plays Brandon Nakashima in other top first-round battles.