Draper struggles to overcome Nakashima and qualifies for the Queen’s semifinals
After Jiri Lehecka's qualification earlier in the day, attention turned to the second quarterfinal match at the ATP 500 Queen’s tournament. A home favorite, Jack Draper, ranked 6th in the world, hoped to reach the semifinals in this event held on home turf.
Following his victories over Jenson Brooksby (6-3, 6-1) and Alexei Popyrin (3-6, 6-2, 7-6), the Brit wanted to confirm his status against Brandon Nakashima, ranked 32nd in the world. The American is comfortable on grass and previously eliminated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (6-7, 7-6, 6-4) and Daniel Evans (7-5, 7-6).
After winning the previous round with great difficulty in the tiebreak of the third set, the winner of this season’s Indian Wells Masters 1000 wanted to reassure himself, as he had narrowly avoided elimination.
In a tight and lively match, it was indeed Draper who took the best start. After an early break, the left-hander held his serve until the end of the set. However, the second set was much more contested.
More comfortable on his serve, the American caught his opponent as they were heading calmly towards a tiebreak. On his return game at 6-5, Nakashima seized his opportunity and was rewarded, forcing spectators at the Andy Murray Arena to witness a third and decisive, yet tense, set.
Ultimately, Draper weathered the storm, breaking his opponent's service in the middle of the third set, before concluding at the end of a suspenseful match (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) against a valiant opponent who held on until the end, even securing two break points in the last game.
Jack Draper, 23 years old, narrowly escapes once again but advances to the Queen’s semifinals. This victory also assures him of being the 4th seed at Wimbledon. He will face Jiri Lehecka, who defeated Jacob Fearnley (7-5, 6-2), this Saturday in the semifinals.
