Jack Draper is into the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club after earning the best win of his career as he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3) 6-3.
It was an incredible performance from Draper who defeated the world number two with a serving masterclass.
A break of serve in the second set secured the victory over the defending champion in order to reach the quarter-finals.
Now Draper will take on Tommy Paul in the last eight on Friday.
The signs were there from the early stages of the match that Draper was there to play as he went 30-15 up on his first three return games.
However, Alcaraz showed his champions qualities as he held his nerve under pressure by producing smart and effective serving.
Meanwhile Draper felt no pressure on his serve as he continued to rattle down powerful serves, testing Alcaraz.
The Spaniard retaliated with some efficient patterns of play as no break points were created in the opening set with the first set going to a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Draper produced some incredible shot-making as he continued to put persistent pressure on Alcaraz.
The Roland Garros champion crumbled under pressure, producing erratic errors as Draper took the tiebreak 7-3.
In the second set both players started confidently although Alcaraz’s frustrations grew deeper as Draper continued to cruise to service holds.
Something had to give and that something was a massive Draper backhand as the Brit created and took the first break point opportunity of the match for a 4-2 lead.
An immediate response from Alcaraz as the Spaniard created a break point of his break point only to be denied by a stunning half-volley by Draper.
The Brit held serve before producing a convincing return game to create three match points.
However Alcaraz’s champion qualities prevailed in a ten minute game, forcing Draper to serve for the match.
Serve for the match Draper did as he converted his fourth match point to seal the biggest win of his career and a place in the quarter-finals.
After the match Draper admitted it was a tough match and thanked the crowd for the support, “It was a really tough match,” Draper was quoted by the ATP website as saying in his on-court interview.
“I knew coming out here Carlos is defending champion here, obviously won Wimbledon last year. [He is an] incredible talent and so amazing for the sport. So I had to come out and play really well and luckily I did today, so thank you.
“There’s no place I’d rather be right now [with] my family, my friends. The British support, you guys are amazing and I want to keep on playing here.”
Next for Draper is Tommy Paul in the last eight.
