Jack Draper beat Brandon Nakashima to advance to the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club championship and guarantee he will be fourth seed at Wimbledon.
It’s a significant step for Draper, meaning he’d avoid potential matches with Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals of his home major later this month.
At Queen’s on Friday he defeated the Brandon Nakashima in three tight sets, 6-4 5-7 6-4.
Draper will be the fourth seed at Wimbledon
“I’ve got to get to the semis first [of Wimbledon],” smiled Draper. “But last year I went there ranked 40th and now I’m fourth. To get to that position is an incredible feeling. It is testament to the work me and my team have done and I’m proud of that.”
Nakashima opened the match with a strong service game but soon Draper had him under pressure. He took an early break in the first set and consolidated it with a hold in the next game.
That put him in a commanding position. Nakashima did get two break points in the sixth game but Draper eventually warded off the threat. He blasted down an ace to take the first set.
In the second set Nakashima began to serve better, tightening up the contest. He remained composed as he secured two set points against Draper’s serve. The British No 1 defended the first but hit too long on the second as Nakashima took the match to a decider.
Draper seized a break in the seventh game and built on that to take a clear lead in the final set.
Serving for the set, Draper dropped 0-30 behind Nakashima before a hefty ace brought him into the game. The American still exerted pressure on Draper getting two break points to draw level in the deciding set. But pin-point forehand on to the line from Draper defended the first of them and he bellowed with satisfaction as Nakashima struck a return of serve too long to take them to deuce.
Draper got himself to match point and raced to the net to send Nakashima scrambling across the court before finishing the match off.
“It means the world to me, the support I’ve received this week has been amazing,” added Draper after becoming Britain’s first semi-finalist since Cameron Norrie in 2021.
“At times I’ve not played great tennis but I’ve tried to believe in myself.”
Fearnley’s run was halted in quarter-finals
Jiri Lehecka ended Jacob Fearnley’s run at Queen’s
The 23-year-old will play Jiri Lehecka in the semi-finals after the Czech brought Jacob Fearnley’s Queen’s Club run to an end in their quarter-final.
The British No 2 looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat to the Czech world No 30.
Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match on the Andy Murray Arena despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles – alongside Cameron Norrie – against Lehecka and Taylor Fritz.
Lehecka got revenge for that defeat by preventing Fearnley from becoming the first British man to reach the semi-finals on his Queen’s Club debut in 48 years.
Fearnley coughed up eight double faults in the first set, including three in both the games in which Lehecka broke his serve.
Lehecka struck again for 3-2 in the second after a Fearnley forehand landed a millimetre out and then ran away with the match, wrapping up victory in an hour and 17 minutes.
“Obviously if I’d known I was going to be put on first the day after playing a long match in 32 degrees and playing another doubles match late at night, then I probably wouldn’t have played doubles,” he said.
“It’s just difficult to predict those things sometimes. It’s just about being smart about it, really.”
Medvedev through to last four in Halle
Daniil Medvedev was forced to hold up play due to suffering with a nose bleed, then he hit a superb winner on the returning point against Alex Michelsen at the Halle Open
Daniil Medvedev overcame a nosebleed to reach the semi-finals of the Terra Wortmann Open in Germany.
Medvedev took a medical timeout to deal with the unwanted second-set interruption against Alex Michelsen, but the world No 11 ploughed on to beat his American opponent 6-4 6-3.
“The shadows on the court made the conditions quite difficult,” former world No 3 Medvedev said after an 85-minute match in which Michelsen fended off four match points.
“It took some time to get used to it. It was then better in the second set.”
Medvedev has not dropped a set in the Halle tournament and will meet Alexander Zverev for a place in the final.
The German favourite booked his last-four spot with a hard-fought 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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