Jack Draper explains why Andy Murray wasn’t in his box for his latest win in Eastbourne
Jack Draper confirmed his place in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne Open by defeating Gabriel Diallo in straight sets.
Draper has been impressive at the South Coast and he comprehensively swept aside the giant Canadian by a scoreline of 6-1, 6-4.
The British star is playing in his first tournament since April, after he was forced out of the Barcelona Open with a knee injury, but he has rekindled the form that saw him reach a career ranking high of World No 4 last season.
Draper has been working under new coach Andy Murray for the grass court swing, but the three-time Grand Slam champion was not in his box for his win against Diallo.
The star has been in attendance at the Eastbourne Open previously, watching Draper pick up victories against Marcos Giron and Jack Pinnington-Jones.
Asked why Murray was not in attendance for his match against Diallo, Draper responded: “I asked him to work with me a month or so ago.
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“He had some charitable commitments in his diary and today it was one of those days, but he’ll likely be back again tomorrow. He watched my whole match. Today was a one-off. He’s Andy Murray – he is who he is, and he had a commitment that he couldn’t get out of.”
Draper will face his biggest test yet at Eastbourne as he plays Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals of the ATP 250 event. Humbert is the highest remaining seed left in the competition and currently ranked World No 30 in the world.
The pair have only played once before on the ATP Tour, which went the way of the Frenchman. Humbert knocked Draper out of the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, after the British star was forced to retire at a set down.
It’s realistic to say whoever wins the clash between Draper and Humbert will be the overwhelming favourite to win the title at the South Coast event, as the draw has massively opened up.
Top seeds Taylor Fritz, Joao Fonseca, and Francisco Cerundolo all withdraw before the tournament began, and several lesser names have capitalised on the weaker field.
The other semi-final is between qualifier Toby Samuel and Zizou Bergs, so it could be a very successful week indeed for Draper at the Eastbourne Open.
Draper is set to continue is grass court swing at Wimbledon following Eastbourne, alongside Murray as his coach, where he doesn’t tend to enjoy his best results.
The star has never reached past the second round of the Grand Slam, crashing out at that stage of the tournament on three occasions.
