Draper Aces His Way Into Queen’s Club Quarterfinals With Home Support

Jack Draper
Jack Draper (photo: ATP Tour video)

LONDON/WASHINGTON, June 18, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

As World No. 6 Jack Draper continued his campaign at the HSBC Championships in West London with an eye toward becoming just the fourth British player to reach three or more Queen’s Club quarterfinals in the Open Era, big-serving Alexei Popyrin stood in his way.

While the World No. 21 from Australia brought an impressive 6-1 winning-loss record versus Top-10 players since last August into his second-round match against Draper – and aimed to advance to his third quarterfinal of the season following last eight runs at Monte-Carlo and Geneva – ultimately, the British No. 1 prevailed. However, it took going the distance, including a third-set tiebreaker – and three match points – for Draper to achieve his 27th victory of the season in his 33rd match. He closed out his 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) triumph over Popyrin with his 14th  ace of the second-round match.

The 23-year-old Draper joined Tim Henman (7), Andy Murray (6) and Greg Rusedski (3) among the British legends in reaching his third Queen’s Club quarterfinals. It was a brilliant finish and one in which he raised the level of his tennis by the end. Draper won 81 percent of his first-serve points, struck 33 winners to 29 unforced errors, converted two of eight break points and outpointed Popyrin 91-87.

“It was tense out there, to be honest,” Draper admitted during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “The first set I wasn’t quite there, then I managed to get through the second [set]. It was tight tennis, here and there [in the third]; I thought I did amazing to come through. I competed throughout, I accepted my errors. I accepted the fact I wasn’t feeling great out here, to be honest. I have to give credit to Alexei, as well. He played a great match. I think the home support got me over the line today. …

“I think my game still has to improve a lot more over the last couple of matches. I’ve not been anywhere near my best tennis, but that’s normal. It’s the first tournament on the grass and I’m coming through these matches, which is important. I beat a Top-20 [calibre] player today and I can be proud of that. I have to keep going. I’ll have a tough match next and hopefully, I can keep building my confidence and start playing the kind of tennis I want to play.”

Meanwhile, British No. 6 Daniel Evans wasn’t as fortunate as Draper. He fell to No. 32 Brandon Nakashima of the United States in straight sets, as the Briton looked to equal his best result at Queen’s Club, when he reached the quarterfinal roiund in 2021. Instead, Nakashima advanced with a 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory to set up a Friday quarterfinal meeting with Draper. It’s the second time Nakashima has achieved the last eight in an ATP 500 event. He succeeded by hitting 24 winners, converted two of four break points and outpointed Evans 79-70.

Currently ranked No. 199, Evans would have been be the third lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in this century following No. 309 Draper in 2021 and No. 216 James Ward in 2011 – as he hoped to reach his first ATP Tour quarterfinal in nearly two years. Instead, there will be better days for the hard-fighting 35-year-old Briton.

On the brighter side, earlier in the day Evans received a Wimbledon Championships wild card to compete in the main draw for the 10th time. The former World No. 21 has reached the third round at the All England Club three times.

Around the Queen’s Club

• Wednesday afternoon’s three-set battle between 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of Czechia and 37-year-old Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain brought together two different generations of the game on Andy Murray Arena. By the end of their two-hour, 21-minute tussle, the older generation prevailed. Bautista Agut used experience to his advantage.

The 51st-ranked Bautista Agut came from behind to garner a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over the No. 8 seed Mensik, ranked 17th. He struck a seventh-shot forehand winner – his 25th winner of the second-round match – to secure his ninth win of the season and second quarterfinal-round berth.

“Sometimes,” Bautista Agut said during his on-court interview, “experience is an advantage.”

Making his first appearance in West London since 2016, when he reached the quarterfinals, Bautista Agut converted three of six break points and outpointed Mensik 98-93. He overcame 12 aces and 37 winners from his opponent and prevented Mensik from achieving the 50th tour-level win of his career. It was Bautista Agut’s second Top-20 win of the season and he’s through to his 82nd career quarterfinal and 13th on grass.

Next, Bautista Agut will face World No. 9 and fourth seed Holger Rune of Denmark, who rallied to defeat No. 98 Mackenzie McDonald of the United States, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, in a hour and 21 minutes Wednesday evening. Rune hit 30 winners – including 13 aces – and converted five of seven break points. He outpointed McDonald 75-53.

• In doubles, No. 4 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain advanced to the quarterfinal round following their 6-3, 6-4 victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France and Rajeev Ram of the United States, in 57 minutes on Court 1. The British duo dropped just two points on their first serve and converted three of seven break points. They outpointed their opponents 56-45.

Also, No. 2 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 win over Daniel Evans and Henry Searle of Great Britain, in 71 minutes on Court 1. The winners outpointed the Britons 64-49.

Meanwhile, top seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic advanced to the quarterfinals after their 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) win over Americans Reilly Opelka and Ben Shelton on Monday.

Wednesday’s HSBC Championships results

Thursday’s HSBC Championships order of play

By the numbers

Among active players who have played a minimum of 15 grass-court matches, World No. 2 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz has the highest winning percentage. He is 25-3 lifetime on grass for an .893 winning percentage. Behind him is Novak Djokovic (.857, 120-20) and Matteo Berrettini (.792, 42-11).

“Quotable …”

“I love being in England. It reminds me of home. The language, the culture and when the sun’s out, it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We rent a house as a team, spend time together and don’t travel as much. It’s a nice change from living out of a suitcase.

“The history, the crowd, the feeling in London. I love it. And Queen’s is my favourite tournament on the ATP circuit. It’s a beautiful set of courts.”

– World No. 21 Alexei Popyrin of Australia, during a pre-tournament interview with the ATP Tour website, on playing at Queen’s Club.

 

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