Jack Draper’s daunting Wimbledon draw was followed by disappointment at the Lexus Eastbourne Open as he suffered a semi-final exit at the hands of Ugo Humbert.
The 24-year-old discovered on Friday morning he will face world No 7 Taylor Fritz in the first round at the All England Club after an injury-ravaged year left him unseeded.
He was then denied a place in the final at Devonshire Park as he slipped to a 7-5 6-3 loss to sixth seed Humbert in an hour and 42 minutes.
“It’s the best gift I could have today. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes,” Humbert said after the Eastbourne crowd sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him following his win.
“It’s nice to see Jack back on court. The level was really impressive and I was a bit lucky in the second set. I had [four] break points to save. I’m super happy to be in the final.”
While the defeat dashed Draper’s hopes of securing a maiden ATP title on home soil, he can take confidence from a promising week on grass following a year disrupted by injury.
The former world No 4 had been bidding to reach a first final since losing to Casper Ruud at last year’s Madrid Open – the event which marked the start of a persistent problem with his racket arm.
He had a chance to seize the initiative at 30-0 on Humbert’s serve in the opening game but neither player could find a breakthrough until the Frenchman converted his fourth break point to clinch the first set.
Following straight-sets victories over Marcos Giron, Jack Pinnington Jones and Gabriel Diallo, Draper was faced with the prospect of having to come from behind for the first time in the tournament.
He saw four break points come and go in a tight third game of the second set and then decisively failed to hold serve in game six en route to suffering a first defeat since teaming up with new coach Andy Murray.
World No 30 Humbert will play Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in Saturday’s final.
Bergs, who is ranked 48th in the world, earlier extinguished the prospect of an all-British final in East Sussex by battling back from a set down to defeat lucky loser Toby Samuel 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Despite his semi-final defeat, Samuel can reflect on a breakthrough showing on home soil.
The 23-year-old, who had not won a tour-level match prior to this week, has risen 19 spots to No 123 in the live rankings as a result of his run.
Keys and Maria set up Eastbourne final after opponents quit
Tatjana Maria is the oldest ever finalist at the Eastbourne WTA event
American Madison Keys and German veteran Tatjana Maria set up an Eastbourne final as they both benefited from their opponents retiring mid-match in the semi-finals on Friday.
Maria was leading 6-1 1-2 against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko when her opponent retired feeling unwell during a rain delay at Devonshire Park.
Second seed Keys took the first set 6-1 against Croatian 20-year-old Petra Marcinko who then quit with an abdominal injury.
The 31-year-old has dropped only 14 games in reaching the final, spending just four hours on court as she bids for a third title at the south coast tournament.
“It’s always bittersweet winning a match this way and hopefully she gets better for Wimbledon,” Keys said.
“She’s an incredible young player, has lots of years ahead of her so I’m sure we’ll see lots of her.”
At 38, Maria is the oldest-ever finalist at the Eastbourne WTA event. She fought off early break points before surging ahead against the error-prone Latvian.
Ostapenko had a medical timeout trailing 4-1 and, after a rain shower interrupted play early in the second set, she did not return from the stoppage.
Maria said: “I was feeling well, then the rain started, but I was focused. I was ready to go out here.”
She added: “It’s never nice to end like this, but I’m happy with my week for the moment, and I’m happy to be in the final.”
Osaka, Muchova reach new heights on grass
Naomi Osaka has reached the first non-hardcourt final of her career
Naomi Osaka defeated Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-3 in Bad Homburg to reach her first grass-court final.
She needed just 70 minutes to close out her first career meeting with Wang.
“It’s funny to still be (achieving) milestones at my old age,” Osaka said afterward with a laugh. “For me, it’s really fun and I’m really happy.”
Osaka will face Karolina Muchova, another first-time grass-court finalist in Saturday’s championship match. The No 4 seed advanced with a 6-4 6-4 win over qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
