Draper digs deep to reach Queen's semi-finals for first time / Photo: © AFP
Draper digs deep to reach Queen's semi-finals for first time
Jack Draper reached the Queen's Club semi-finals for the first time with a tense 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over American Brandon Nakashima on Friday.
Draper survived a gruelling quarter-final clash lasting two hours and 24 minutes in sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The 23-year-old had twice lost in the last eight at Queen's, but now he is just two wins away from joining Andy Murray as only the second British champion at the tournament in the Open area.
Draper will move above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings next week to a career-high of four.
That means at Wimbledon, which starts on June 30, the 23-year-old can avoid defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals.
"Last year I went there ranked 40th and now I'm fourth. To get to that position is an incredible feeling," Draper said.
"It is testament to the work me and my team have done and I'm proud of that."
Draper will face Jiri Lehecka in the last four on Saturday after the Czech world number 30 beat beat British number two Jacob Fearnley 7-5, 6-2.
"It means the world to me, the support I've received this week has been amazing," Draper said after becoming Britain's first Queen's semi-finalist since Cameron Norrie in 2021.
"At times I've not played great tennis but I've tried to believe in myself."
Later in Friday's quarter-final action, French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz plays France's Arthur Arthur Rinderknech before Danish fourth seed Holger Rune faces Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
F.Herrmann--NRZ
