Jack Draper’s remarkable 2025 season keeps getting better, as he continues to impress at Queen’s.
Earlier this year, Draper won his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, defeating Denmark’s Holger Rune in the final.
Moving on to clay, some questioned whether the Brit would be able to reach those same heights, questions he answered when Draper reached the final of the Madrid Open.
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Attempting to reach a final on all three surfaces in 2025, Draper made a strong start at the Queen’s Club Championships, beating Jenson Brooksby and Alexei Popyrin to advance to the quarterfinals.
There, Draper took down Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to advance to his first semi-final at Queen’s.
Reacting to Draper’s latest win, the 23-year-old’s Davis Cup captain highlighted the biggest change he’s made to his game in 2025.
Leon Smith says Jack Draper has started to come forward more in 2025
Working as a co-commentator for BBC Sport, Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith shared his thoughts on Draper after the match.
“This is the biggest change this year. I know James Trotman, his coach, has worked extremely hard at this,” said Smith.
“Jack [Draper] actually liked extending the points beforehand because he is an amazing competitor, but this year we have seen the forehand and the ability to get forward.
“He has a monster serve, so he is going to get so many looks at a forehand he can attack, but the ability to come forward [has helped him].
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“He also has the feel around the net and has a great drop shot as well, which can work well on clay, but on grass it can work really, really well.”
Smith was particularly impressed with how Draper approached set point in the first, comparing it to a shot he made against Popyrin on Thursday.
“What I liked about this is that we saw it yesterday against Popyrin, the 5-5 point in the breaker. Backhand up the line and come in,” he said.
“That is what I said to him when I saw him in the player lounge afterwards. That point, you go back 12 months ago, he maybe wasn’t prepared to step in and be the bravest.
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“Now he has done such an amazing job of understanding, no matter what the moment, I am going to be the one who steps in and takes that opportunity, and I think he is doing it brilliantly now.”
1977 Australian Open finalist John Lloyd was keen to weigh in with his thoughts, explaining what Draper does that he finds ‘amazing’.
“He is so brave. There is no fear factor. It’s incredible,” said Lloyd.
“He takes the ball on and is so confident in his ability, and so many times he can get himself out of trouble with these big shots. It’s amazing.”
Fans of the Brit will no doubt hope to see him hit some more ‘big shots’ when he returns for his semi-final match with Jiri Lehecka on Saturday, June 21.
How well has Jack Draper performed at the Davis Cup?
Smith was pleased to see Draper reach the semi-finals and may well be feeling quietly confident of his team’s chances at the Davis Cup over the next few years, should the 23-year-old choose to participate.
But how has Draper performed at the ‘World Cup of tennis’ throughout his career?
Jack Draper’s Davis Cup record
The Brit has only won one of his four matches at the Davis Cup, beating Thanasi Kokkinakis on his debut in 2023.
For a player of Draper’s calibre, a 1-3 record at any event isn’t good enough, something he’d likely admit himself.
A better player now than he was in 2023 and 2024, it’s hard to imagine he will have a losing record at the Davis Cup for much longer.
Having lost to Japan earlier this year, Great Britain will take on Poland in a relegation play-off this September, a tie Draper could well participate in.