Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat by Britain’s Jack Draper in the last 16 of the Queen’s Club tournament in London on Thursday. Alcaraz, also the reigning Queen’s champion, lost 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 with the British number one claiming the biggest win of his career. World number two Alcaraz arrived for this grass-court warm-up event for Wimbledon fresh from his French Open triumph on the clay of Roland Garros.
But the 21-year-old Spaniard was undone by Draper, 22, who is bidding to become the first British men’s singles champion at Queen’s since Andy Murray won his fifth title at the event in 2016. Alcaraz had not been beaten in seven weeks or indeed lost a match on grass in nearly two years. Draper, however, put that record to one side as he became the first British man to beat a top-two player on grass since Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz was annoyed by the automatic shot clock, which forced him to hurry his serve, and complained to umpire Mohamed Lahyani. But he had no qualms about the result as his 13-match unbeaten streak on grass ended in decisive fashion, with Alcaraz saying: “I’m not too good right now. “I felt like I didn’t play well, I didn’t move well,” added Alcaraz, who begins the defence of his Wimbledon title on July 1.
“Of course I have to give credit to Jack. I think he played really good tennis today,” For the 31st-ranked Draper, this stunning victory came hot on the heels of hi.
