Jack Draper Comes to Jannik Sinner’s Defense After the Italian Crashed out of the Terra Wortmann Open

Jannik Sinner will head to the Wimbledon Championship with just one win in his last three matches on tour.

Jack Draper Comes to Jannik Sinner’s Defense After the Italian Crashed out of the Terra Wortmann Open

Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, British Tennis Players)

Jannik Sinner suffered a shock defeat to Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Terra Wortmann Open. The Italian star was seeking to defend the title having won it last year, but fell short against an aggressive Bublik. Following the loss, Jack Draper has declared that the World No.1 is not a superhuman.

Sinner had defeated Bublik when the two faced off in the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros a little over two weeks ago. But at the Terra Wortmann Open, the latter earned his revenge in the sweetest form. He hit 36 winners and 15 aces during the match, while forcing Sinner to make errors with his forehand.

However, Sinner controlled the match in the first set but in the second, Bublik increased the tempo of his game. The Kazakhstan star’s breakthrough came after a mishit from Sinner that gave Bublik the break to take a 4-2 lead. Without wasting much time, he won the set 6-3, which propelled him to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the World No.1.

Sinner arrived at the tournament admitting that he had sleepless nights following his devastating five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the Roland Garros final. However, he insisted that he focused on defending the title after beating Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the Terra Wortmann Open.

Nonetheless, his loss to Bublik ended his 66-match winning streak against players ranked outside the Top 20. During Draper’s press conference at the Queen’s Club Championships, he revealed that grass is a very difficult surface for Sinner to play his best tennis:

He almost never lost. I don’t know the exact statistics, but I think the coach showed me that in Cincinnati he was second only to Alcaraz. He was the most consistent and strongest player on the tour. But grass is a completely different surface…He is not superhuman. He will lose – especially with this level of competition.

Sinner is not scheduled to play in any tournament ahead of the Wimbledon Championship. The 23-year-old will head to the grass-court Grand Slam with just one win in his last three matches. Also, he has not won a title since January, when he claimed his second consecutive Australian Open.

Jack Draper clinches top 4 seed at the Wimbledon Championship

Jack Draper has secured his spot in the top 4 seeding at Wimbledon for the first time in his career after his win at the Queen’s Club Championships. The British No.1 channeled the home crowd support to claim a decisive 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima to reach the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament.

Jack Draper (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Jack Draper (via X/The Tennis Letter)

After the match, the 23-year-old reacted to becoming the No.4 seed at the Wimbledon Championship. He added that the achievement was a testament to his hard work on and off the court:

It’s an incredible feeling. I was at Wimbledon last year ranked No. [28]. To go there at fourth seed is a testament to all the hard work me and my team have done, so I’m proud of that. It means the world to me. The support I’ve received this week has been amazing. I’m used to battling against the crowd, so this week is nice. To be in the semi-finals here for the first time is something I’ve wanted since I was a little kid, so it means everything to me.

Draper will now face Jiri Lehecka next for a place in the final of the Queen’s Championships. The British star leads Lehecka 2-1 in their head-to-head record and triumphed in their most recent meeting in the semi-final of the Qatar Open in February.

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