Jack Draper taking nothing for granted despite ‘huge step' into top four
Draper ensured he will be the fourth seed at SW19 after reaching the semi-finals at Queen's Club for the first time.
The British number one battled past American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 on the Andy Murray Arena.
Draper is now two wins away from becoming only the second home men's singles winner in the Open era – after the man in whose honour the court is named.
But more importantly, Draper has moved above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings to a career-high of four.
That means at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old can avoid Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world numbers one and two respectively, until the semi-finals.
'I've got to get to the semis first,' he smiled, before adding: 'I think it's a definite huge step for me.
'I remember last year going in ranked around 30 or 40. To be inside the top four one year around, that's massive progress, a testament to my team, the dedication I have had for tennis, the work I have put in on a daily basis.
'You know, I live and breathe the sport, and I'm obsessed with progressing and obsessed with becoming the player that I want to become all the time and achieve the things I want to.
'It's another step in the right direction. At Wimbledon, regardless of seeding, each match is very difficult, because obviously you've got loads of top players in the draw, a bit like this week.
'But it gives me confidence knowing I'm in that position and I'm going to be in the right place for that.'
Jacob Fearnley's run at Queen's is over (Ben Whitley/PA)
In the semi-finals Draper will face Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka, who ended Jacob Fearnley's promising debut run.
The British number two looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat.
Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles – alongside Cameron Norrie – over Lehecka and Fritz.
'Obviously if I'd known I was going to be put on first the day after playing a long match in 32 degrees and playing another doubles match late at night, then I probably wouldn't have played doubles,' he said.
'It's just difficult to predict those things sometimes. It's just about being smart about it, really.'
Top seed Alcaraz eased through to the other semi-final after beating Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4.
Alcaraz, who spent almost three and a half hours on court on Thursday beating fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, said: 'I could feel better but honestly I thought I would be feeling worse than I am right now.
'But as tennis players we have to do what we have to do and that's to recover and play the next day. I am glad today was one hour and 20 minutes.'
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