Jack Draper smashed a tennis ball into the Queen’s Club crowd after blowing four break points in his semi-final meeting with Jiri Lehecka. The young Brit was hoping to sail through and set up a showdown with either Carlos Alcaraz or Roberto Bautista Agut in Sunday’s final. However, it was a tough start for Draper with Lehecka claiming the first set.
He struggled to gain a foothold in the match and wasted several opportunities to break his opponent in game three of the second set. After spurning a fourth break point, Draper reacted angrily by smashing a tennis ball high into the air and towards the crowd. It was brilliantly caught by a fan, sparking a huge cheer which seemed to wind Draper up even more.
The former US Open semi-finalist aggressively hit his racket against his shoes before returning to the baseline, with Lehecka eventually holding serve to level up at two games each in the second set.
While making his way back to his chair, Draper pointed in the direction of his box and shouted something before shaking his head in disappointment.
Andrew Cotter, who was commentating on the match for BBC Sport, said: “Oh dear. This is a huge moment in the match and in this game. Four break points. It’s a hold for Jiri Lehecka and you wonder if that game might be pivotal in this match.
“There won’t be many games where you get four break points on Lehecka’s serve and that is why the frustration is bubbling from Draper. Now he resets and you have to just park it and say: ‘I’m playing well, let’s carry on’.”
Leon Smith, the Davis Cup captain, added: “Obviously, you naturally get frustrated because those moments are hard to come by when Lehecka is serving like he has been. But you’re absolutely right, he [Draper] needs to regroup.”
It comes after Draper earned himself a boost for Wimbledon by beating Brandon Nakashima at Queen’s Club on Friday. It means he will return to fourth in the ATP rankings on Monday, which will secure him a top-four seeding at SW19.
Reflecting on his adjustment to grass-court tennis after that match, Draper said: “The level of what I’m playing could be more consistent, definitely better. I think it will come. The more I practice, the more I play, I’m getting a little bit better each time.
“I don’t know when it will come together, but still doing well to be in the semi-finals. Day by day, we’ll see. It’s just such a hard adjustment.
“I really tried on the clay to play a certain way, to be aggressive in the back court, to be tough from the back of the court, and I spent probably like a month and a half on the clay.
“This is still [early] because I didn’t practise too much before the tournament with certain things. I’m sort of going by ear out there a little bit, and I’m trying to become more and more comfortable on the grass.
“When you get more comfortable in the movement, more comfortable in what you’re trying to do out there, it just starts clicking.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk