HSBC Championships 2025: Jack Draper sails through the first round at The Queen’s Club
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Jack Draper opened his grass court season with a straightforward win in two sets as he made his first appearance on the Andy Murray Arena.
The British No.1 needed just one hour and 19 minutes to see off American star Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-1 in the first round at the HSBC Championships.
He’ll move on to face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the second round after the world No.21 came through a tight opening match against qualifier Aleksandar Vukic.
The win was Draper’s first match on the grass, coming off the back of an impressive fourth round run at Roland Garros, and he’s looking to continue his success on the surface over the British summer swing.
“It’s always tricky to come on to the grass after the clay,” Draper said following his win. “To adapt sometimes, you hit the ball quite late and not on time but the more matches and practice time I get on the court, I’m going to feel better and better and more confident about my tennis.
“It’s definitely a surface I really enjoy playing on and obviously being at home that helps as well.”
Draper has continued to reach new heights during what has so far been a standout season for the Brit. Since his last appearance at The Queen’s Club, he has climbed from just outside the world’s top 30 to a career-high world No.4 and has claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy at Indian Wells.
He spoke highly of the support he’s received that’s helped him get to where he is today and his ambitions to do well in the tournament, “So proud (of his progress over the last year). Obviously coming back here a year later, I think it’s a testament to the hard work I’ve been putting in, my team, all the people that have supported me, the LTA, everyone around me getting behind me to support me to be a better player, better person and I’m excited to see how I can get on this week. I feel confident, I feel ready, and I want to do my best.”
It took a few games for Draper to find his feet on the surface, but once he found his stride, he began to dominate behind his big lefty-serve and powerful forehand.
The Indian Wells champ rattled through his own service games – losing just one point behind his first serve in the opening set. The 23-year-old began to dominate the return games and was eventually rewarded with a double break on the American’s serve as he rounded off his fourth game in a row to take the lead.
Draper, who is making his fourth main draw appearance at the event since making his debut in 2021, ran with the momentum into the second set as he quickly led the American 3-0.
Brooksby looked frustrated with the Brit refusing to let him in the points, with the world No.149 not creating a single break point opportunity on Draper’s serve across the whole match.
The Brit was in full flow, clinching six of the final seven games to set up an opportunity to serve for the match. A simple hold was finished with an ace – his eighth of the match – as the Brit booked his place in the second round.
Draper's match against Vukic will be second on the Andy Murray Arena on Wednesday 18 June. Check out the full schedule on our score centre.
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