Jack Draper suffers semi-final defeat at Queen's Club Championship against Jiri Lehecka – Sky Sports

Tennis
Jack Draper was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 by Jiri Lehecka in the Queen’s Club Championship semi-finals; follow scores and reports from Queen’s Club and you can watch all the action from the tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, stream through NOW and Sky Sports app
Saturday 21 June 2025 16:27, UK
Jack Draper failed to reach the Queen’s Club Championship final after a frustrating three-set defeat to Jiri Lehecka.
The British No 1 had already guaranteed himself fourth-seed status at Wimbledon due to his progress in the tournament, but he was denied a potential showdown with Carlos Alcaraz after losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Lehecka.
Alcaraz will face fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in an attempt to make the final at Queens following his successful stint at the French Open.
One poor service game at the start, punctuated by two aces and a double fault on break point, ultimately cost Draper the first set.
He did not get a sniff on the Lehecka serve, with his fellow 23-year-old regularly sending down aces approaching 140mph.
In the second Draper began making inroads, a stunning flicked backhand cross-court winner helping bring up his first break points.
Soon, Lehecka found himself three break points down early in the second set, frustrating Draper who had four chances to break for a lead.
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The second set continued to be a nervy affair with both failing to capitalise on their chances to break.
Draper re-emerged with the bit between his teeth, an ace sealing a hold to love before a winner down the line levelled the match.
But he was broken by Lehecka in the closing stages of the third, shattering an advertising hoarding with his racket in anger, and the Czech player closed out victory on his serve.
Lehecka ensured Britain’s wait for a first Queen’s winner since Andy Murray in 2016 goes on, however in doing so he sealed his spot as the first Czech finalist since Ivan Lendl 35 years ago.
“It means a lot,” said Lehecka. “You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor.”
In the doubles, all-British pairing Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie were beaten by Croatia’s Nikola Mektic and New Zealand’s Michael Venus 6-3 7-5.
There will be British interest in the finals though, as the second semi-final features the fourth seeds, all-British pairing of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool against the second seeds and reigning Wimbledon men’s doubles champions Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara.
Women’s world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was stunned by former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova who wrapped up a commanding win in straight sets.
Czech Vondrousova controlled the tempo from the outset with big serving on the grass as she secured the 6-2, 6-4 win in one hour and 20 minutes.
She broke the Belarusian twice in the first set while saving both break points she faced to reach her first final since her 2023 Wimbledon victory, before becoming plagued by injuries and seeing her ranking plummet.
“I feel like on grass you have to take risks, you know, and that was the point; I was like, ‘okay, let’s try’,” Vondrousova said.
“The match would continue otherwise, so you have to go for it.
“I was feeling really well today so, yeah, I’m just very happy.
“I didn’t play for a long time, so I’m just so happy to be back healthy and so grateful to play these matches.
“When I saw the field, I was like, okay, let’s try to win the first round, and now this is happening, so thank you guys for the support.”
Vondrousova will play qualifier Wang Xinyu in Sunday’s final, after the Chinese player beat Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 15 minutes to reach the first final of her career.
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