Jack Draper has been playing amazing tennis in recent days, including a win over Carlos Alcaraz, but he's out of the 2024 Cinch Championships after losing to Tommy Paul.
Draper always had the talent, but a lot of physical problems in recent years kept him from having that typical breakout we see from young players. He's back to full health now and playing really well, as he had a tremendous run in Stuttgart to win his maiden ATP trophy last week.
He continued his good form on grass by beating Carlos Alcaraz in Queen's en route to the quarter-final at the ATP 500 event. His opponent was Paul, a really tricky player who can be streaky, and the Brit didn't handle it too well.
Paul was much better in the opening set. He took an early lead, which he lost, but then broke again to remain on top. The opening set finished 6-3 for the American; he was super aggressive and did most of his damage on Draper's second serve. The Brit relies heavily on his serve, but he didn't serve that well in that opening set.
Paul returned really well, crushing his opponent on the second serve, which is why he won the opening set. In the second set, Draper served much better, as he barely lost any points on his first serve. Paul's level dropped a bit, and the home hero used that to win the second set 7-5.
The momentum seemed to be on Draper's side, but early on in the third set, Paul applied more pressure. He had break points but couldn't convert as Draper held firm. He wouldn't do that at 3-3 in the final set, though, as he dropped his serve to give Paul a chance to end the match.
He did with the final score being 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, booking a spot in the semi-finals of the 2024 Cinch Championships.
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