Jack Draper won his first career doubles match in Montreal when he paired with world number one Jannik Sinner.
The British number one joins Australian Open champion Italian Sinner in an all-star pairing at the National Bank Open, while preparations for the US Open have begun in earnest.
The 22-year-old pair looked like they had never played together before as they overcame 16th-seeded Belgian Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the first set without dropping a set.
Gill and Freegan, an experienced doubles pair who had been beaten by Andy Murray and Dan Evans at the Olympics, equalized after a tie-break.
But Draper/Sinner recovered from a 7-4 deficit in the tiebreaker and won 6-0 6-7 10-8.
Draper’s last match was a loss to Taylor Fritz at the Olympics. He has only participated in three ATP doubles matches in his career and lost them all.
Sinner, who unlike his new partner actually holds the doubles ranking, is playing his first match since Wimbledon since he missed the 2024 Paris Olympics with tonsillitis.
The pair are two of a number of singles players, including Russian world number five Daniil Medvedev, seeking extra playing time ahead of Flushing Meadows in the doubles draw.
In the next round they will face American Ben Shelton and Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
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World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beats Hubert Hurkacz to win his first ATP Tour title on grass
Shelton and Bublik advanced after Britain’s Henry Patten and his partner, Wimbledon champion Harri Heliovaara, had to withdraw due to a collision.
Draper will return to his regular routine on Wednesday when he takes on Australia’s Jordan Thompson in singles action.
What’s coming to Sky Sports Tennis?
On the eve of the last Grand Slam of 2024, the US Open, you can watch all of tennis’s biggest stars compete sky sports live when they compete during the hard court season.
- Montreal National Bank Open (ATP 1000) – August 6-12
- Toronto National Bank Open (WTA 1000) – August 6-12
- Cincinnati Open (ATP 1000) – August 12-19
- Cincinnati Open (WTA 1000) – August 13-19
- Winston-Salem Open (ATP 250) – August 18-24
- Cleveland Land Tennis (WTA 250) – August 18-24
- GNP Seguros Open, Monterrey (WTA 500) – August 19-24
- US Open (ATP/WTA) – August 26th – September 8th
From August 6th to 12th, you can watch the Canadian Open live on Sky Sports and select matches on Sky Sports Plus. Watch Sky Sports Tennis and more with a NOW Sports Monthly Membership. No contract, cancel anytime.
