Jack Draper marked his return to the ATP Tour after nearly six months out with a 7-6(8), 6-3 victory over Quentin Halys in the first round of the ATP 500 event in Dubai on Monday.

The Briton had not featured on the Tour since withdrawing ahead of the second round of the 2024 US Open last August. His only competitive outing in the interim was a straight-sets win over Norway’s Viktor Durasovic in the Davis Cup on February 2.

“It feels so good to be out here competing in front of people,” said Draper, who rose as high as world No. 4 last June but is currently ranked No. 12.

“It could have been a little cleaner from my side, but I hadn’t played on the Tour for a long time.

“I’ve been craving the feeling of competing for a very long time. It just felt normal. It felt like I was coming back to doing what I love.”

Earlier, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime required six match points to close out a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over China’s Zhang Zhizhen.

“I stopped counting at some point; it was getting too frustrating,” Auger-Aliassime admitted.

“Having match points is the position you want to be in as a player, but it’s weird how the mind plays a trick on you.

“How much further I am from losing than he is, he should be the one that’s tight.”

Last season’s runner-up in Dubai, Auger-Aliassime has now reached the final in his past two tournaments, lifting the trophy in Montpellier before finishing second in Rotterdam. He will next face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who relied on his powerful serve to overcome Tunisia’s Moez Echargui 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(4).

The Frenchman hammered 29 aces — including one on match point — to secure his first tour-level win since reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland in January.

Elsewhere, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka continued his farewell campaign with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Benjamin Hassan. Watching from the stands was fellow Swiss great Roger Federer, an eight-time champion in Dubai.

It marked Wawrinka’s 10th tour-level victory since turning 40 — the most by any player in the Open Era.