HSBC Championships 2025: Jack Draper through to his first semi-final at The Queen’s Club

In a match full of momentum shifts, the second seed went up an early break in the opening set, which would prove decisive.

At 5-4, the Brit failed to convert the three set points and quickly trailed 0-40 on his own serve. However, Draper kept his head up, fighting back to take the lead with his sixth set point.

There was literally separating the two players for the majority of the second as both struggled to make any moves in their opponents’ games. It wasn’t until the final game that the Californian was able to hunt down the Draper serve, taking the set on his second chance.

Draper showed his resilience in the third, picking up his level with some clinical serving – firing home nine aces and dropping just six of his 27 service points across the set. With the world No.6 continuing to pile the pressure on Nakashima, his efforts were rewarded with a crucial break at 3-3 to hand him the opportunity to serve for the match.

Nakashima - who made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022 - didn’t back down as he forced the Brit to save two break points. The match ended with some action at the net before a final running volley proved too much for the former Next Gen Finals champion to handle as the British No.1 punched his ticket to the semi-final.

The win puts Draper back at his career best ranking of world No.4, as well as giving him a top four seeding for Wimbledon. Speaking of the move, the Brit said “To be in that position, it’s an incredible feeling.

“I was at Wimbledon last year ranked 40 so to go there ranked fourth seed that’s a testament to all the hard work me and my team have done, so very proud of that.”