Britain’s Jack Draper is through to the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club Championships, after a stunning defeat of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 6-3.
A tight first set with no break points saw Draper excel in a tie-break to clinch it 7-3 and claim the opening set, before storming through the second to lead 5-2 with two match points on the Alcaraz serve.
The Spaniard recovered to hold from there, but Draper then held his nerve, serving out the match for victory.
Spanish superstar Alcaraz, who won the French Open earlier this month, had not been beaten in seven weeks or lost a match on grass in almost two years.
But Draper served notice that he is ready to mix it in the upper echelons of the game by becoming the first British man to beat a top-two player on grass since Andy Murray against Novak Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final.
“It was a really tough match,” said Draper. “Carlos is the defending champion, he won Wimbledon, he’s an incredible talent and amazing for the sport.
“I had to come out and play well and luckily I did.
“There’s no place I’d rather be right now, with my family, my friends and the British support. I’ve got my grandad here, who’s just turned 80, he’s doing well.”
Draper became the new British No 1 on Monday, having secured the first ATP Tour title of his career by beating Matteo Berrettini in the Stuttgart Open final on Sunday.
Draper will next face fifth seeded American Tommy Paul in the last eight, with the latter having overcome Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets.
With top seed Alcaraz now out, second seed Alex de Minaur and third seed Grigor Dimitrov are already eliminated as well, as are sixth, seventh and eighth seeds Ben Shelton, Holger Rune and Ugo Humbert.
As such, the only seeded players remaining are Paul (fifth) and American compatriot Taylor Fritz (fourth), who faces Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the quarters.
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