Jack Draper saw his Queen’s hopes ended by a shock semi-final defeat as frustration got the better of him with the Brit smashing his racket and earning a code violation
Jack Draper smashed his racket after losing the penultimate game of his semi-final as his Queen’s hopes were ended in the last four. Britain’s highest ranked male player was playing in front of his home crowd, but that wasn’t enough to get him over the line.
He was beaten in three sets by Jiri Lehecka, who makes the final of an ATP event for the first time. Draper lost the first set but came roaring back in the second with the duo locked up at 5-5 in the third. A tiebreak was on the cards before Lehecka broke the home favourite.
The Czech ripped a stunning winner as Draper tried in vain to chase it down. After being broken, he smashed his racket against the advertising hoardings and appeared to hurt himself. Draper had hit the board so hard that the technology momentarily broke.
He and his smashed racket returned to his seat as he was hit with a code violation by the umpire. His underdog opponent was able to hold serve in the deciding game to record a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory.
Lehecka paid tribute to the crowd as he said: “It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor. I know you’re favourite didn’t win today but I appreciate you being fair with me.”
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Draper was in no mood to hang about and quickly exited the court in London with his focus now firmly switching to Wimbledon, where he will be the fourth seed owing to his run to the semis at Queen’s.
After the match, Draper revealed he has been suffering from tonsillitis but offered no excuses for his outburst. “I’ve got tonsillitis. I have known since yesterday,” he said.
“I haven’t felt good all week. I tried my best out there to get myself up for the matches and compete my hardest. But when you have something like that, the body doesn’t really want to play 2 hour 20 matches in the heat.
“Today’s probably the worst I have felt. Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semifinals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg. I wouldn’t have pulled out for anything.
“I’ll definitely have some days, give myself a break for a few days. I definitely need that. My main goal is to go into Wimbledon as prepared as possible and as fresh as possible.
“When you’re not feeling great, when your energy is really low, you use everything you can to get yourself up. I’m almost getting angry to get fired up. But in the end, anger just spilled over a little bit too much.
“I don’t condone that behaviour, but at the same time, that’s where I was at today. I was trying to use everything I could. I tried to compete for every ball.
“I don’t want to behave like that, but that’s just the way I sort of am as a competitor. Sometimes I just play on a bit of a tightrope. I don’t want to be behaving like that.”
Despite his disappointment, Draper’s run to the last four means his seeding will prove hugely beneficial to his Wimbledon ambitions. He won’t play the likes of Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals as he eyes a strong run at SW19. Last year he could only make the second round.
Since then he’s recorded his best Grand Slam result – making the last four of the US Open. This year he’s reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and the French Open but will hope that the home crowd can roar him on when the championships begin on June 30.
Jamie Murray, a mixed doubles winner at Wimbledon, said: “It was a big positive for Draper that he made the semi-finals and he guaranteed himself a top four seeding. He will be thrilled about that heading into Wimbledon.”
He also added: “Jack Draper is an amazing competitor. He is a big guy but moves incredibly well. He has that left hand that will help him in defensive situations that maybe right-handers don’t have. He is having an amazing year and we are hoping he will have a great Wimbledon. He will be one of the favourites behind Sinner and Alcaraz.”