In the final throes of a tense, uneasy tussle with one of the bigger servers in his sport, Jack Draper was fading. The British No 1, and second seed, had started poorly: he had struggled to find his range on his groundstrokes for much of the occasion and then two match points passed him by. Deep in the third-set tie break, he trailed 2-4.
Over the past year, though, a period during which he has established himself as one of the best players in the world, Draper has continually shown his ability to find a path to victory no matter what. In the first week of his grass-court homecoming, the 23-year-old offered a forceful demonstration of his supreme competitive spirit as he recovered to defeat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the world No 21, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to reach the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club.
“I have always been a really good competitor,” Draper said. “That’s something I pride myself on: trying my absolute best for every point whenever I play. I think that comes from when I was younger. I think I have an older brother that helps with that. I was lucky enough to have coaches who made me very competitive as well.
“I played up as well, so I was always quite small, and I had to fight hard for every point if I wanted to make any headway in the match. I think I have always had that, and I think that’s one of my biggest strengths, to be honest. Especially on a day like today where I wasn’t my best, wasn’t feeling my best, but I came through and I gave myself another chance.”
Having started last year’s grass-court season ranked No 40, Draper returned to London, his home city, at a career-high ranking of No 4. An underdog for so long, he is now a title contender in every tournament he enters. The next four weeks mark another significant moment in his career as he takes a step into the unknown and tries to navigate the pressure that will continue to grow as Wimbledon approaches.
That extra tension was evident early on as Draper was punished for a sloppy service game at 3-4 and quickly found himself down a set. He gradually found his range, building rhythm on his serve and returning with greater depth and consistency as he forced a final set. Although his forehand was erratic and he was tentative behind his backhand, Draper served well in set three and it seemed as if he might be rewarded for his patience when he generated two match points on Popyrin’s serve. Instead, the Australian saved both before forcing a tiebreak.
In the most tense moment of the match, in that tiebreak, Draper gave a full demonstration of his toughness. From 2-4, Draper won five of the six points with a flurry of clutch winners, including a winning forehand down the line, an ace, a searing backhand down-the-line winner and then another ace on match point. He took the match into his own hands with courage and character, producing his best level when he most needed it. It was the mark of a player who continues to grow into a champion.
In addition to remaining in the equation for his first Queen’s Club title and potentially securing a top-four seeding at Wimbledon, which he would acquire with one more win, perhaps the most important part of this victory is that Draper will have another match on grass before Wimbledon. He will face Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals on Friday after the American defeated Britain’s Dan Evans 7-5, 7-6 (4).
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Elsewhere, Mika Stojsavljevic, Hannah Klugman and Mimi Xu, Great Britain’s trio of talented teenagers, will make their Wimbledon main-draw debuts this year after being handed wildcards. Stojsavljevic, the US Open girls’ champion, and Klugman, who reached the French Open girls final this month, are both 16 and Xu is 17.
They will be joined in the women’s draw by Heather Watson, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage and Fran Jones. Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, was also granted a wildcard as she continues her return from maternity leave. In the men’s draw, Evans, Jack Pinnington Jones, Johannus Munday, Henry Searle, Jay Clarke, Oliver Crawford and George Loffhagen have all received wildcards.
