Draper begins bid to emulate Murray at Queen's Club with opening win
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.
'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.
Draper (pictured) will face Australian Alexei Popyrin in the second round (Ben Whitley/PA)
'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.
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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North Wales Chronicle
25 minutes ago
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South Wales Guardian
25 minutes ago
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Katie Boulter ‘felt a lot of love' from response after revealing online abuse
The 28-year-old shared her experiences, which included death threats, with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players encountering toxic messages on social media. Examples of the abuse included someone telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow' and one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money. Katie Boulter has been inundated with support after she shared details of the online abuse she has received 🫶 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 17, 2025 Since her interview aired, Boulter has been inundated with support. 'I looked on my phone this morning and literally there were hundreds of messages of people reacting to it and every single person was just telling me to disregard it and how much they love me and appreciate me bringing this subject into light,' she said following victory over Lulu Sun in the first round of the Lexus Nottingham Open. 'It was a really warm response to it coming out and it was very nice to see. 'It's very rare that I go on it (social media) loads but I do notice things here and there and I felt a lot of love from it.' Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and feels incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety. One message stated 'hope you get cancer'. 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that,' she said in her BBC interview. 'I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible. 'It just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' Boulter's compatriot Jack Draper said it was 'so easy to spread online hate', while her fiance, Australian player Alex de Minaur, also offered support. Speaking after his opening match of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, Draper said: 'It's not easy, especially, I think she (Boulter) said, when you're younger and getting all this abuse, saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It's not nice. 'But, at the same time, I take comfort in knowing whoever's doing that is probably sat on their mum's couch, nailing a bag of Quavers with their pants on.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players. The report reveals 1.6million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse, while 40 per cent of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues. A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: 'Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. 'Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue. 'Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.' "Everyone – betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers – has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one." Findings from the first season-wide report reveal the scale of abuse players face on social media. — wta (@WTA) June 17, 2025 In response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson told the PA news agency: 'BGC members do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport.' Boulter was praised for highlighting the issue by the FIA's United Against Online Abuse campaign, a research-led coalition dedicated to tackling online abuse in sport. A spokesperson said: 'Katie is incredibly brave for speaking out about the appalling online abuse and threats she has faced. 'Betting-related abuse has risen significantly in recent years and now presents a serious and growing threat to the safety, well-being and mental health of athletes.'
