Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon preparations suffered a setback as he was eliminated in a surprising 7-6(3) 6-3 last-16 loss by the highly skilled Jack Draper at the Queen’s Club Championships.
The Australian Alex de Minaur was defeated by the 21-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion, who won the French Open last month, in the 2023 Queen’s event. However, the Spaniard was not the same player against the top-ranked British player, Kyle Draper.
After defeating former world number six Matteo Berrettini to win the Stuttgart Open, Draper defeated top seed Alcaraz in the opening set in 58 minutes with an almost faultless performance, setting up his biggest career victory.
As the Briton’s family looked on triumphantly from the grandstand, Draper easily ended Alcaraz’s 13-match winning streak on grass in the second set, which was even more one-sided.
“It was an extremely difficult game. I was aware going into this match that Carlos was the current champion, had won Wimbledon, and possessed incredible talent. I came out here knowing that I had to play really well, and fortunately I did,” Draper remarked.
“My grandfather is here in the Under Armour; he turned 80 recently! My mother, my entire group, my school pals, and each and every one of you. I’m grateful.
In the quarterfinals, Draper, 22, will face Tommy Paul, an American.
A concern involving an injury occurred to Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, less than two weeks before her championship defence is scheduled to begin.
In the opening set of her Berlin Open second-round encounter against Anna Kalinskaya, the Czech stumbled and fell from a 5-3 lead.
After calling for a medical time-out and clutching her right hip, Vondrousova left the game two games later, with the score tied at five.
From July 1–14, Wimbledon will take place. On the second day, Vondrousova is scheduled to begin her title defense.
When the 24-year-old defeated Ons Jabeur in the championship match, she became the first player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title without a ranking.
Leave a Reply