Furious Jack Draper boils over at Queen's as Jiri Lehecka denies British No 1
As Jack Draper has spent the past week here trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass-court tournament of the season, Jiri Lehecka had bulldozed everything in his path. After two tension-filled hours, their form was reflected in the scoreline as the unseeded Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the final and deprive the Briton of a shot at competing for first title on home soil.
Although he competed brilliantly throughout the week, navigating two tough three-set wins over Alexi Popyrin and Brandon Nakashima, Draper has struggled as he continues to adjust to grass after a successful clay court season and he has looked vulnerable in each match.
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Lehecka, however, had been the outstanding performer this week, defeating the fifth seed, Alex de Minaur, in the opening round before continuing to march through the draw. His massive first serve and clean, destructive forehand dominated much of the match and he outplayed Draper for significant stretches, earning him a well-deserved first grass-court final.
On a stifling day in west London, with temperatures scaling 30C before cooling, Draper set the tone with a dire opening service game, punctuating a series of forehand errors with a double fault on break point as he immediately lost his serve.
While Draper floundered, Lehecka was flawless throughout the set. He served well, hitting his spots and he marched through his own service games without a problem. Lehecka also dominated the baseline with his forehand, attacking without hesitation. He refused to allow Draper any hope of establishing himself in the set.
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Emma Raducanu has been handed a testing draw at the Eastbourne Open, where she is expected to make a return after managing a back problem that has troubled the British No 1 since she competed in Strasbourg last month, before the French Open.
The 2021 US Open champion took an off-court medical timeout during her quarter-final loss to Zheng Qinwen at Queen's Club last week, after which it was confirmed she would miss this week's Berlin Open, having been offered a wildcard.
Seeded seventh in the draw for Eastbourne, Raducanu has been drawn against the American Ann Li in the first round, with the two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur her likely second-round opponent. Daria Kasatkina, the Australian world No 16 and last year's Eastbourne winner, is a potential quarter-final opponent.
In Berlin, Marketa Vondrousova brushed aside Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, to reach her first final since lifting the Wimbledon title two years ago. The 25-year-old Czech, ranked 164, dominated Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4, to set up a title clash against Wang Xinyu, who beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 in. her semi-final. Vondrousova plummeted down the rankings from sixth after missing several months with a left shoulder injury for which she underwent surgery last year. PA, AFP
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Draper's serve has been his saving grace here, keeping him competitive when he has often struggled with his forehand. He served immaculately throughout the second set, finally putting Lehecka under pressure on his own service games, and his resilience was finally rewarded as Lehecka threw in his first dire service game at 4-5, relinquishing the break in the process.
Encounters between two excellent servers on grass courts often do not lead to a particularly thrilling match-up, but it makes the decisive moments even more tense. After both players had breezed through their service games early in set three, Draper blinked first. As his first serve deteriorated, Lehecka snatched the decisive break for 6-5 with a searing backhand winner.
Draper finally boiled over and he responded to the break by smacking his racket against the interactive screen on the side of the court, momentarily disabling it. Although Draper regained his composure and fought until the end, Lehecka coolly closed out an excellent win.
This report will update after the second semi-final
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