British No. 1 Jack Draper dug deep to book his spot in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals, battling past Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in a dramatic and physically demanding match on Wednesday.
It wasn’t the start Draper would’ve wanted the 23-year-old was outplayed in the first set by the world No. 21 at the Wimbledon tune-up event. But showing maturity and mental grit, Draper stormed back with a dominant second set before edging a nerve-racking final-set tiebreak. The contest lasted two hours and 13 minutes under the scorching west London sun.
In years past, a match like this might have slipped away from Draper. But the young Brit has grown tougher, both physically and mentally and it’s showing. After his impressive US Open semifinal run last year, Draper is now eyeing a breakthrough at Wimbledon, where he’s yet to move past the second round.
His 2024 season has been promising making the fourth round at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros and his consistent performances have pushed him to No. 6 in the world rankings.
Should he make it past the quarterfinals at Queen’s for the first time (after falling short at this stage twice before), Draper would lock in a top-four seeding at Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 30.
Against Popyrin, Draper’s heavy groundstrokes helped turn the tide in the second set with a double break. But the Aussie didn’t go quietly saving two match points when serving at 4-5 in the decider.
In the tiebreak, Popyrin surged ahead 4-2, putting Draper on the ropes. But with the home crowd urging him on, the Londoner reeled off five of the next six points sealing the win with a booming ace that brought Queen’s Club to its feet.
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