ATP Tour

Draper locks Top 4 Wimbledon seed with run to Queen's Club SFs

Jack Draper secured a Top 4 seed at Wimbledon for the first time Friday by surging into the last four at the HSBC Championships.

The British No. 1 channelled the home support amid a lively deciding-set atmosphere to defeat Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and reach the semi-finals at Queen’s Club. With his victory, the 23-year-old Draper is up to No. 4 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, guaranteeing him a Top 4 seed at the grass-court major and ensuring he avoids facing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz until the semi-finals, should he progress to that stage.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Draper said when told the news. “I was at Wimbledon last year ranked No. 14. To go there at fourth seed is a testament to all the hard work me and my team have done, so I’m proud of that.”

Draper holds fond memories of his time at Queen's Club. It's the site where notched his first tour-level match win in 2021 and also where he earned his first Lexus ATP Head2Head wins over Sinner and Alcaraz, in 2021 and 2024, respectively. Yet he had not been able to advance past the quarter-finals until this year.

“It means the world to me. The support I’ve received this week has been amazing,” said Draper. “I’m used to battling against the crowd, so this week is nice. To be in the semi-finals here for the first time is something I’ve wanted since I was a little kid, so it means everything to me.”

Home hero heads on 👏@QueensTennis | #HSBCChampionships | @jackdraper0 pic.twitter.com/EFmLPCMI6d

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2025

On an overcast day in west London, Draper struck big and heavy throughout his quarter-final clash with Nakashima. Yet for the second consecutive match, the British lefty was forced to navigate a testing three-set encounter, during which his level fluctuated.

Draper hit 29 unforced errors across the opening two sets, but refound his rhythm on serve in the deciding set, during which he won 83 per cent (15/18) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After improving to an 8-3 record at the ATP 500 event, Draper will next face Jiri Lehecka, whom he leads 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having triumphed in their most recent meeting in the Doha semi-finals this year.

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Lehecka recorded his 100th tour-level victory by moving past Briton Jacob Fearnley 7-5, 6-2. The 23-year-old Lehecka, who missed last year’s grass swing due to a back injury, is just the second active man from Czechia to own a century of wins after Jiri Vesely (143).

Lehecka dropped serve for the first time this week but produced a rock-solid response to soar into his maiden grass-court semi-final.

“I didn’t really feel that I was in the rhythm I needed to be in, but my reaction was good and I didn’t bother myself with that,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “We are in the semi’s, so you need to be playing well, there’s no time for any mistakes and you need to believe in your game.”