Jack Draper begins bid to emulate Andy Murray at Queen's Club with opening win
The British number one, seeded second at this year's HSBC Championships, is attempting to become only the second home men's singles winner in the Open era after Murray.
Draper got his grass-court season off to a solid start on the Andy Murray Arena with a 6-3 6-1 win over American Jenson Brooksby, before poking fun at his mentor, who retired last year.
What a start for @jackdraper0!!! 😍#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/dwoGX4815k
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 17, 2025
'Can't get rid of this guy,' he joked. 'Andy is an unbelievable guy, someone I'm very inspired by and I wouldn't be where I am without him.
'I definitely miss him on the Tour. Thank you Andy, this court deserves to be named after you.'
Draper narrowly avoided injuring himself when he chased down an overhead into the advertising hoardings on his first set point, but he dispatched the second with a clubbing forehand.
The 23-year-old then fired down an eighth ace of the contest on his first match point before celebrating a dominant win and writing 'good to be home' on a camera lens.
Draper, who will face Australian world number 21 Alexei Popyrin in the second round, revealed he suffered an injury scare ahead of the tournament after falling on the Queen's practice court.
'I feel good. I feel good now,' he added. 'Last week in training I had a little niggle. I had to have a break for a couple of days to see it through.
'I was training on the courts here and took a really heavy fall. I was limping around for a day or so, but it wasn't anything that was going to keep me from playing.'
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz, playing his first match since his epic five-set triumph over Jannik Sinner in the French Open final nine days earlier, eased past Adam Walton 6-4 7-6 (4).
Alcaraz was supposed to take on fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina but the 26-year-old, who got married at the weekend, withdrew through illness on Tuesday morning.
The 2023 Queen's champion had been enjoying his own celebrations, jetting off to party island Ibiza following his Roland Garros success.
The 22-year-old may have still been feeling the effects as he was not at his sharpest, but he still saw off Australian lucky loser Walton to extend his winning streak to 14 matches.
Serving up the W ✅
2023 champion @carlosalcaraz posts a 6-4, 7-6(4) scoreline 🆚 Walton @QueensTennis | #HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/MagyIxoaI5
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 17, 2025
He said: 'I had some days off and I made the most of it. To reset my mind a bit, to rest up. Then my mind is straight here.
'After the French Open, it's just a week to switch to grass so I don't have too much time. I would've liked to have more time to relax after the French. I've had a few days back home and a few days to get back here.'
Sinner, playing in his first match since blowing those three Championship points in Paris, beat Germany's Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-3 to reach the last 16 in Halle.
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