Jack Draper set for ATP Rankings high as he also earns new British milestone with superb Acapulco run

Shahida Jacobs
Jack Draper was beaten by Tommy Paul at Queen's.
Jack Draper fell in the last eight at Queen's

Jack Draper is set to reach a new career-high in the ATP Rankings following his brilliant run at the Mexican Open while he will also become the new British No 2.

Rising star Draper started the week at No 50 in the ATP Rankings, but he will surge up the list after reaching the last four of the Acapulco tournament.

The 22-year-old took out seventh seed Tommy Paul in the first round of the ATP 500 event and followed it up with wins over Yoshihito Nishioka and Miomr Kecmanovic to reach his second semi-final of the year.

Draper, who defeated Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-2 in the quarter-final, is projected to jump 13 places in the rankings to No 37 – one spot above his previous best of 38 which he achieved at the beginning of 2023.

The new spot will see him move ahead of Dan Evans (44) in the pecking order in terms of British players in the ATP Rankings with only Cameron Norrie – currently at No 28 – ahead of him.

The youngster, who finished runner-up to Jiri Lehecka at the Adelaide International in January, struggled with injury last year as he was forced to miss the entire grass-court season due to a shoulder problem and, as a result, slipped out of the top 100 in the rankings.

However, he started climbing back up the rankings late last year and returned to the top 50 in February. Victory in the semi-final could see Draper rise to as high as No 30.

Defending Mexican Open champion Alex De Minaur stands between Draper and a third ATP Tour singles final as the Australian claimed his first-ever win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

De Minaur had lost his previous 10 matches against Tsitsipas, but came away with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory and joked afterwards: “Every time I’ve gotta play him I get reminded about my match-up.

“I’m glad I got one on the board. I would like to say no one beats me 11 times in a row.”

De Minaur’s comment was in reference to Vitas Gerulaitis’s infamous 1980 quote after he beat American legend Jimmy Connors for the first time.

“And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row,” the Argentine said after the win.

The other semi-final in Acapulco will see second seed Casper Ruud take on seventh seed Holger Rune. Ruud defeated Ben Shelton 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4 while Rune was a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-0) winner over Dominik Koepfer.

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