LONDON:
The Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka was amazed at Britain’s Jack Draper to reach the Queen’s final 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win on Saturday.
Lehecka threw 36 winners and hit 16 aces to end Draper’s offer for a final appearance at Wimbledon Warm-up event in West London.
The 23 -year -old will face French open champion Carlos Alcaraz or Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in Sunday’s final.
“It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day. It’s an amazing competitor,” Lehecka said.
“It’s not easy to use my service (on the grass), but I’m working on it for the last few weeks. I’m happy with it.”
Draper hoped to become the first British Singles champion at Queen’s by his five -year winner Andy Murray in 2016.
After holding his spot in the semifinals Draper, he revealed that he had kept the queen’s trophy as a child about 12 years ago.
But Draper, who ranks sixth in the world, will have to wait for at least another year to get his hands back in silverware after producing an unusual error screen in burner conditions.
Lehecka had already ended the hopes of a Briton in the queen after defeating Jacob Fearnley in the quarter -finals on Friday.
The 23 -year -old also won the 12 Alex De Minaur world number in the tournament’s opening race, but Draper’s hit was his biggest scalp.
Draper’s careless double bullet gave a break to the first set of the first set.
Frozen Lehecka ignored the temperatures he fell as he traveled through the rest of the set.
Draper had to put pressure on Lehecka to return to the race and did just that in the fourth game of the second set.
Even then, Lehecka broke four breaks and repelled another to the sixth.
But Draper was holding away from the base line and eventually landed a large blow with a winner below the line at the specified point.
Rock legend and greedy tennis fan Jon Bon Jovi, watching the kiosks, climbed out of his seat to greet Draper’s relaxed race. AFP
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