Jack Draper earns Wimbledon seedings boost by making Queen’s Club last four
Jack Draper is a perfectionist in every sense of the word, which means that for the third consecutive match he departed the court quite unimpressed by the level of tennis he demonstrated.There were, after all, quite a few self-sabotaging concentration lapses, his forehand was sometimes too erratic and he did not always seem comfortable moving on the slick grass.In the most important moments, however, when the match hung in the balance, the 23-year-old locked in and produced his best tennis.Once again, the British No 1 held his nerve in the final stages of a tough three-setter as he defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals at Queen’s Club for the first time in his career.The victory means Draper will return to his career-high ranking of No 4 on Monday, securing him a top-four seeding at Wimbledon.
At a time when almost every player wishes to avoid an early meeting with Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, he cannot face either of the world’s top two before the semi-finals.However, a meeting with Alcaraz here remains on the cards.One day after his own dramatic three-set win, as he recovered from 2-4 in the final set to defeat Jaume Munar in a three hour, 26-minute marathon, Alcaraz, the top seed, returned to the semi-finals at Queen’s Club with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Arthur Rinderknech.Alcaraz has won 16 consecutive matches, the longest winning streak of his career.Alcaraz stressed how difficult it was to recover with less than 24 hours after such a tough match.
“Could be better, honestly, but I thought I was going to feel much worse than I feel right now,” the world No 2 said.“But we are tennis players, we have to do whatever we have to do just to recover, to be in good shape the next day.I’m just feeling great.I’m glad that today was one hour, 20 minutes.Today was more grass [than clay], so I’m just happy and hopefully tomorrow I’m going to feel much better.
”For Draper the past few days have, in some ways, emphasised just how much things have changed over the past year.Although he has broken new ground this week by reaching a first semi-final at this venue, he still feels some way from producing his best.“The level of what I’m playing could be more consistent, definitely better,” he said.“I think it will come.The more I practise, the more I play, I’m getting a little bit better each time.
I don’t know when it will come together, but still doing well to be in the semis.Day by day, we’ll see.While he has previously been able to produce his best level from the beginning of the grass season, Draper is still finding his feet after enduring his first full clay-court season and the significant efforts it took for him to adapt his game to suit a completely different surface.“It’s just such a hard adjustment,” said Draper.“I really tried on the clay to play a certain way, to be aggressive in the back court, to be tough from the back of the court, and I spent probably like a month and a half on the clay.
This is still [early] because I didn’t practise too much before the tournament with certain things.I’m sort of going by ear out there a little bit, and I’m trying to become more and more comfortable on the grass.When you get more comfortable in the movement, more comfortable in what you’re trying to do out there, it just starts clicking.”During the decisive moments, though, the confidence that Draper has gained over the past few years has been plain for all to see and every match affords him the opportunity to further improve his level on grass as he attempts to peak in time for Wimbledon.Draper will next face the talented Czech Jiri Lehecka, who ended the excellent run of the British No 2, Jacob Fearnley, with a 7-5, 6-2 win.
Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionElsewhere, the world No 1, Jannik Sinner, released his first music single, Polvere e Gloria (Dust and Glory), with the famous Italian vocalist Andrea Bocelli.Alongside Bocelli’s singing, Sinner reiterates parts of his past speeches during trophy ceremonies.On Thursday, the same day the song was announced, Sinner suffered his first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 in nearly two years, losing in three sets to Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Halle Open.In Nottingham Katie Boulter’s bid for a hat-trick of titles came to an end as she was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 by McCartney Kessler.The British No 2 and eighth seed secured a service break early in the deciding set but the American stormed back to reach the semi-finals.
Keir Starmer’s AI tsar to step down after six months in role
Keir Starmer’s artificial intelligence tsar, a key figure in steering the government’s approach to artificial intelligence, is stepping down after six months in the role.Matt Clifford, the author of the government’s AI opportunities action plan, said he would leave his post next month for personal reasons.He described his work on drafting and implementing the 50-point plan as a “privilege”, adding he was “hugely optimistic about the UK’s potential to be an AI superpower”.“For family reasons, I will step back from my role as the prime minister’s adviser on AI opportunities at the end of July, but I’m delighted that this important work will continue across government.”A government spokesperson said Starmer had thanked Clifford, who was appointed in January, for his “dedicated work” on AI policy
Whip’s resignation over disability benefit cuts not a sign of major rebellion, Nandy says
Downing Street will not suffer a major rebellion when MPs vote next month on cuts to disability benefits, Lisa Nandy has insisted, despite the resignation of a government whip on Thursday.The culture secretary said Vicky Foxcroft, who resigned from the government saying she could not vote for the controversial measures, was the only frontbench MP she knew of who had been thinking of quitting.Despite 170 Labour MPs having expressed concerns about the bill, which will make it harder for disabled people to claim personal independence payments (Pips), Nandy said the government was not expecting many other Labour MPs to defy the whip.Asked on Friday whether she was detecting signs of a major rebellion, Nandy told BBC Breakfast: “I’m not. It would be wrong to say that, when you bring forward big reforms there aren’t concerns and there aren’t dissenting voices, of course there are
£5bn UK overseas aid cuts cannot be challenged in court, say government lawyers
Cuts of £5bn to the UK overseas aid budget cannot be challenged in the courts, government lawyers have said, even though ministers have no plan to return spending to the legal commitment of 0.7 % of UK gross national income (GNI).The assertion by Treasury solicitors that ministers are immune from legal challenge over aid cuts comes in preliminary exchanges with the aid advocacy group One Campaign. It is the first step in what could prove a highly embarrassing judicial review.In the spring statement in March the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she was slashing aid from 0
Labour MP resigns as government whip in protest at benefit cuts
The Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has resigned as a whip in protest at the government’s welfare plans, saying she will not be able to vote for the cuts to disability payments.The government is braced for a major rebellion on the welfare bill, which includes significant changes to personal independence payments for disabled people.Foxcroft, the MP for Lewisham North who was shadow disability minister before the general election, said she was unable to do her job as a whip because she disagreed with the changes and did not believe that cuts were part of the solution to rising inactivity.In a letter to the prime minister, Foxcroft said the benefits system was “in desperate need of reform” but her experience as shadow disability minister had showed her that the struggles of disabled people and organisations were “even tougher than I had imagined”.She said: “The last Conservative government left many in poverty and living life in fear of losing their support, not getting access to the right medical care, not having suitable housing and not being able to participate fully in society
Give thanks Priti Patel isn’t foreign sec – she’d already be at war with Iran | John Crace
Be thankful for small mercies. If it was up to Priti Patel, the UK would already be at war with Iran. In a former life as international development secretary, Priti got herself fired for freelancing foreign policy on Israel. Now, as shadow foreign secretary, she’s at it again. Old habits die hard
Grooming gang survivors tell MPs to stop ‘tug-of-war with vulnerable women’ – as it happened
The political “tug-of-war with vulnerable women” abused by grooming gangs must stop ahead of a new national inquiry into the crimes, survivors have told the Guardian.Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, two survivors who played a key role in a “gold-standard” local inquiry into the crime in Telford, have urged politicians and those without experience of abuse to allow women to shape the investigation.“We have to put politics aside when it comes to child sexual exploitation, we have to stop this tug-of-war with vulnerable women,” said Archer, author of I Never Gave My Consent: A Schoolgirl’s Life Inside the Telford Sex Ring.“There are so many voices that need to be heard. There’s some voices, though, that need to step away,” she said
One in three across UK are overdue for cervical cancer screening
Jean Robinson obituary
Overseas-trained doctors ‘put off UK due to cost of living and low salaries’
Two Leeds hospitals’ maternity services rated inadequate over safety risks
UK ‘behind curve’ on assisted dying among progressive nations, says Kim Leadbeater
Assisted dying: supporters and opponents of bill on hopes and fears ahead of crucial vote