One day after a British legend bowed out of the Cinch Championships for the final team, a rising star from the host nation continued to emerge.
Jack Draper, who kicked off the grass-court swing with a title last week in Stuttgart, upset Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-3 during second-round action at Queen’s Club on Thursday afternoon. Alcaraz was the defending champion of the event, will be defending his 2023 Wimbledon title next month, and recently triumphed at the French Open.
However, the top-seeded Spaniard wasn’t good enough for Draper in this one. The 22-year-old won 82 percent of his first-serve points and saved the only break point he faced while prevailing in one hour and 39 minutes. After taking the first set in a tiebreaker, one break at 3-2 was enough for Draper in the second.
“It was a really tough match,” the world No. 31 said during his on-court interview. “I knew coming out here (that) Carlos is the defending champion. He won Wimbledon last year. He’s an incredible talent; he’s so amazing for the sport. I had to come out and play really well. Luckily I did today, so thank you.”
Draper will meet Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals on Friday. Paul (No. 5) is one of just two seeds (along with No. 4 Taylor Fritz) remaining in a depleted Queen’s Club draw that also lost Andy Murray on Wednesday. The five-time champion was forced to retire with a back injury in his second-round match against Jordan Thompson.
