Home hope falls: Jiri Lehecka delivers shock defeat to Jack Draper at Queen's Club

Jiri Lehecka delivered a major surprise at the Queen's Club Championships, eliminating Jack Draper in the semifinals with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory to advance to his second final of the season. The Czech player was more effective in the important moments, leaving the Brit empty-handed on his home turf.

Draper exits the tournament without reaching the final but leaves with a great semifinal result, which allowed him to climb to World No. 4 and secure a better seeding position for Wimbledon—avoiding potential clashes with Sinner or Alcaraz until eventual semifinals.

First Set: Lehecka's strong start

The start quickly became complicated for Draper, who paid for a lack of concentration, and Lehecka secured an early break. The Czech had been serving remarkably well throughout the tournament. In his matches against Alex De Minaur (No. 5) and Gabriel Diallo, his opponents hadn't even had a single break point, while against Jacob Fearnley, he faced only one break point (which the Brit converted).

Lehecka had no difficulty holding his serve for the rest of the set, and without doing too much on the return, relying on a strong first serve was enough. Lehecka conceded only 5 points on his serve throughout the set and hit 7 aces—the same number as his opponent. The World No. 30 ended up closing the set 6-4 after 35 minutes, maintaining remarkable consistency on serve.

Second Set: Draper fights back

Draper had not reached a 50% first-serve percentage in the first set, an aspect he notably improved in the second set, raising it to 82% and avoiding long rallies. This time, the Brit had a great start on serve, and at 2-1, he put his opponent on the ropes, with Lehecka saving four break points against him.

However, everything remained even, and neither managed to get the coveted break. With Draper ahead at 5-4, the pressure caught up to Lehecka, and Draper secured the break that would give him the set on his first opportunity. The World No. 6 matched Lehecka's earlier feat, taking the set 6-4, where unforced errors cost Lehecka (17) compared to only 4 from Draper.

Third Set: Lehecka seizes decisive moments

Things remained fairly smooth for both players on their serve. Neither managed to win more than two points on return, and the set progressed without major setbacks. Around 4-4 came the first moment of pressure, when Draper was serving at 30-40. However, he pulled through with three consecutive points to maintain parity.

This was just a warning from Lehecka, who was winning points more easily on his serve. At 5-5, Draper found himself in a difficult situation at a crucial moment, and Lehecka took advantage of his first break chance to gain the decisive lead. The World No. 30 secured the break near the end of the match and then held his serve to clinch the victory, his 8th Top-10 victory (third of the year).

Lehecka advances to the 5th final of his career (first on grass courts) and will seek his third title this Sunday. He will face the winner between Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut. He also guaranteed his return to the Top 25.

Match Statistics Lehecka vs. Draper