Jack Draper: British No. 1 smashes racquet in frustrating Queen’s semi-final defeat to Jiri Lehecka

An unwell Jack Draper missed out on a place in the final of Queen’s after falling to a 4-6 6-4 5-7 defeat against Jiri Lehecka in the semi-finals.

Draper showed heart – and frustration when he smashed his racquet – to send the match to a third set after losing the opener, but it was not enough as he missed out on his first final appearance at the grass court tournament.

Draper revealed afterwards that he was feeling under the weather after being diagnosed with tonsillitis on Friday.

“Today’s probably the worst I have felt,” said Draper, who will move up to world No. 4 after the tournament, ensuring he is the fourth seed at Wimbledon.

“Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semi-finals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg. I wouldn’t have pulled out for anything.

“So I went out there, gave all I had, and I can be very proud of that. And also, it’s not an excuse. It’s just the way I feel.

“I lost today because I lost to a better tennis player. He was better than me in the key moments. He served better. I think he was a bit braver at times.”

On what led to his racquet smash after being broken in the deciding set, Draper added: “It was bit of everything, really. The way I was sort of playing at times. Obviously the fact that I’ve worked so hard to get myself in that position. I really tried to get myself up, get the energy going.

“When you see that ball go past you on that point, you know, it’s very tough to see yourself breaking in the next game, although I tried my best on that.

“I don’t condone that behaviour, but at the same time, that’s kind of where I was at today.

“I was trying to use everything I could. I tried to compete every ball. But in the end, anger just spilled over a little bit too much.”

The victory means Lehecka will face the winner of the other semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday.

Lehecka impressed in the opening set, breaking his British rival before storming to a 6-4 victory to take an early lead in the match.

Draper came out of the blocks firing at the start of the second set, holding serve and almost breaking his opponent in the fourth game.

However, Lehecka survived four break points before winning a closely fought deuce to hold serve and level the set at 2-2.

The pair continued to trade games as the match progressed.

However, Draper forced a third set after producing a sensational shot to break his opponent in the tenth game of the second.

Nothing could separate the British No. 1 and his Czech rival during the start of the third set.

Draper survived a break point during the ninth game, meaning Lehecka had to hold to send the match to a tiebreak.

He kept his nerve before breaking the Brit to take a 6-5 lead.

Lehecka then held serve to wrap up the set and secure the win.

Elsewhere, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is out of the German Open after falling to a 2-6 4-6 defeat against Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-finals.

Sabalenka was no match for the world No. 164 as she produced a stunning upset to reach Sunday’s final.

“I didn’t play for a long time,” said former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova, who missed three months of the season due to a shoulder injury.

“I’m just happy to be back healthy, and so grateful to play these matches. When I saw the field here, I was like, ‘OK, let’s just try to win the first round,’ and then, you know, now this is happening.”

Vondrousova will face China’s Wang Xinyu after she defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the other semi-final.