Jack Draper to be fourth seed at Wimbledon after beating Brandon Nakashima to reach Queen's semi-finals

Jack Draper beat Brandon Nakashima to advance to the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club championship and guarantee he will be fourth seed at Wimbledon.

It's a significant step for Draper, meaning he'd avoid potential matches with Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals of his home major later this month.

He will overtake 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and American Taylor Fritz in the world rankings, climbing from sixth to fourth.

At Queen's on Friday he defeated the Brandon Nakashima in three tight sets, 6-4 5-7 6-4.

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"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."

Nakashima opened the match with a strong service game but soon Draper had him under pressure. He took an early break in the first set and consolidated it with a hold in the next game.

That put him in a commanding position. Nakashima did get two break points in the sixth game but Draper eventually warded off the threat. He blasted down an ace to take the first set.

In the second set Nakashima began to serve better, tightening up the contest. He remained composed as he secured two set points against Draper's serve. The British No 1 defended the first but hit too long on the second as Nakashima took the match to a decider.

Draper seized a break in the seventh game and built on that to take a clear lead in the final set.

Serving for the set, Draper dropped 0-30 behind Nakashima before a hefty ace brought him into the game. The American still exerted pressure on Draper getting two break points to draw level in the deciding set. But pin-point forehand on to the line from Draper defended the first of them and he bellowed with satisfaction as Nakashima struck a return of serve too long to take them to deuce.

Draper got himself to match point and raced to the net to send Nakashima scrambling across the court before finishing the match off.

"It means the world to me, the support I've received this week has been amazing," added Draper after becoming Britain's first semi-finalist since Cameron Norrie in 2021.

"At times I've not played great tennis but I've tried to believe in myself."

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."

Fearnley's run halted in quarter-finals

The 23-year-old will play Jiri Lehecka in the semi-finals after the Czech brought Jacob Fearnley's Queen's Club run to an end in their quarter-final.

The British No 2 looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat to the Czech world No 30.

Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match on the Andy Murray Arena despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles - alongside Cameron Norrie - against Lehecka and Taylor Fritz.

Lehecka got revenge for that defeat by preventing Fearnley from becoming the first British man to reach the semi-finals on his Queen's Club debut in 48 years.

Fearnley coughed up eight double faults in the first set, including three in both the games in which Lehecka broke his serve.

Lehecka struck again for 3-2 in the second after a Fearnley forehand landed a millimetre out and then ran away with the match, wrapping up victory in an hour and 17 minutes.

"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."

Medvedev through to last four in Halle

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Daniil Medvedev overcame a nosebleed to reach the semi-finals of the Terra Wortmann Open in Germany.

Medvedev took a medical timeout to deal with the unwanted second-set interruption against Alex Michelsen, but the world No 11 ploughed on to beat his American opponent 6-4 6-3.

"The shadows on the court made the conditions quite difficult," former world No 3 Medvedev said after an 85-minute match in which Michelsen fended off four match points.

"It took some time to get used to it. It was then better in the second set."

Medvedev has not dropped a set in the Halle tournament and will meet Alexander Zverev for a place in the final.

The German favourite booked his last-four spot with a hard-fought 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory over Italy's Flavio Cobolli.

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