Draper escapes Popyrin's trap in the second round at Queen's
Draper faced Popyrin in the second round at Queen's. The two men had crossed paths only once on the circuit, but never on grass. Until now, the Brit led in their head-to-head encounters (1-0, with a win in Doha in 2025).
The first set was complicated for the Brit, who failed to capitalize on favorable situations on his opponent's serve (0/4 break points). Popyrin, on the other hand, converted his one and only break point opportunity to take the lead in this match.
The trend reversed in the next set with Draper being more effective behind his first serve, winning 85% of points compared to 71% in the previous set. He thus leveled the match at one set each.
Afterwards, both players battled until the tie-break. Even though the Australian led in this decisive game, the No. 2 seed of the tournament eventually won his duel of the day (7-5) after 2 hours and 13 minutes of play. He thus secured his second grass-court victory of the season (3-6, 6-2, 7-6).
In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between Nakashima and Evans, scheduled right after on the Andy Murray Arena.
