ATP Queen's Cup: Draper narrowly beat Poplin to advance to the quarterfinals, Agut upset Schick

On June 18, local time, the ATP 500 Queen's Cup continued the second round of men's singles, and local brother Draper staged a good comeback, he defeated Australia's Popelin 3-6/6-2/7-6(5) to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the third time. Draper squandered two match points when he was down 4-5 in the third set and fought back from a 2/4 deficit in the tiebreak.

Draper infographic

"It was a tough fight and Poppelin played really well," Draper said after the game, "and it was an absolutely exciting moment for me to feel the support from my friends and family." This is the British's fourth appearance at the tournament, having previously reached the quarter-finals twice in 2021 and 2024. He will next face Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who knocked out wildcard player Evans 7-5, 7-6(4).

In the other highlight, Spanish veteran Agut defeated Czech rising star Mensik 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to return to the quarter-finals of the Queen's Cup for the first time since 2016. The 37-year-old saved match points in the first round to beat Borges to take his grass court quarter-final record to 14, including the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finals and 's-Hertogenbosch.

Agut will face Rune in the next round, with the Dane coming back 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 against qualifier McDonald. This is the third time in his career that the current world No.9 has reached the quarterfinals of grass court after the semi-finals of the Queen's Club and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2023. It was also the third time this season that he has advanced to the quarter-finals of the tour, following a runners-up finish at Indian Wells and a triumph at Barcelona. It is worth mentioning that since 2023, Rune has an impressive record of 11 wins and 1 defeat against players outside the top 20 of the ATP rankings, with the only defeat coming at Thompson at the Queen's Club last year.

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)