ATP Tour

Draper dodges disaster, survives Popyrin at Queen's

Jack Draper dug deep on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals at the HSBC Championships for the third time. The British lefty recovered from squandering two match points at 4-5 in the third set and then rallied from 2/4 in the third-set tie-break to overcome Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5).

Competing on a sunbaked Andy Murray Arena in west London, Draper recovered from a slow start to turn the tables against the Australian. After levelling the match, the World No. 6 had two match point chances on the Popyrin serve at 15/40, 4-5. However, he fired a backhand long and then the Aussie blasted a forehand winner to fend off the danger.

With the home crowd roaring on Draper, the 23-year-old rallied from 2/4 in the tie-break to seal victory after two hours and 16 minutes. The second seed moved to match point with a backhand winner before he sealed victory with one of the 14 aces he hit in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"It was a tough match. Credit to Alexei, he played some amazing tennis," Draper said. "My family is here and my friends are here and I love being at home, playing in front of family and friends. It is an emotional moment for me."

Draper is making his fourth appearance at The Queen’s Club, having reached the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2024. The British No. 1, who has wins against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP 500 event, will meet British wild card Daniel Evans or Brandon Nakashima in the last eight. Draper is seeking his second tour-level title on grass after triumphing in Stuttgart last year.

Popyrin, competing at a career-high No. 21 in the PIF ATP Rankings, also fell in a third-set tie-break last week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch against Zizou Bergs. He now trails Draper 0-2 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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Earlier, Roberto Bautista Agut defeated #NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals at The Queen’s Club for the first time since his previous appearance in west London in 2016.

The Spaniard, who saved a match point in his opening-round win against Nuno Borges, has now advanced to 14 tour-level quarter-finals on grass, highlighted by his semi-final showing at Wimbledon in 2019 and title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

The 37-year-old will next play Holger Rune or Mackenzie McDonald.