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There will be two British players in the semi-finals of the Lexus Eastbourne Open after Jack Draper and Toby Samuel booked their spot in the final four of the men’s singles with convincing wins.
Having not played for more than two months before making the trip to the south coast, Draper’s injury comeback took another massive step forward ahead of Wimbledon after brushing aside Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 6-1, 6-4 to reach his second semi-final in the tournament.
For Samuel, meanwhile, his rapid rise on the ATP Tour continues after claiming the biggest win of his career by defeating the eighth seed and Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4 – his first victory over a top-50 opponent.
Remarkably, the 23-year-old, who was a lucky loser in the main draw after initially losing in the qualifiers earlier in the tournament, hadn’t won a single game on the ATP Tour but is now just one win away from reaching the final on home soil.
It’s the first time two Brits will compete in the final four of this event since 1997 – and it’s only the seventh time it’s happened in ATP Tour history.
Recovering from a knee injury suffered in Barcelona in April, the former world number four had shown sides of his old self in the previous two games at Devonshire Park, but his display against Diallo was certainly a stand above the rest so far.
Dominating every aspect of the court from the very first minute under the sun-baked centre group, producing strong shots from the baseline alongside showing great touch at the net, Draper finished with 22 winners to four unforced errors in the contest.
After an impressive opening set, breaking twice to win six games to one, Diallo fought back in the second and overturned an early break from the Brit, but Draper regained his form to claim the win expertly, winning 12 of the following 13 points from 4-3 down in the second.
“It feels amazing, I love this tournament,” said Draper, speaking on court after his win. “I came here four years ago and hadn’t been back since, so even though I missed Queen’s last week and maybe wouldn’t have played here, I’m incredibly happy to be here and to get some matches under my belt.
“I’m really proud of my performance today. I thought it was a strong performance against a tough player. It’s been a difficult year with injury setbacks, but I’m gaining more confidence in my body. Winning helps, obviously.
“It was a strong performance today, and each match has gone that way, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
The 24-year-old will take on France’s Ugo Humbert in the semi-final on Friday.
Samuel continues historic run
Joining Draper in the last four is the 23-year-old lucky loser Samuel after another milestone win for the young Brit.
Only yesterday did he earn his first-ever win on the ATP Tour, but less than 24 hours later, Samuel went one step further and undoubtedly secured the biggest win of his career to date by defeating Cerundolo in straight sets.
Samuel received a late call-up to the main draw after Francisco Cerundolo withdrew from the tournament with injury, so it seemed fate that he would beat his younger brother to reach an ATP semi-final for the first time in his career.
Winning two ATP Challenger events since the turn of the year, while also making his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros last month after coming through the qualifiers, he is set to break inside the world’s top-125 for a new career-high ranking ahead of Wimbledon – and could continue to climb if he goes one step further in the tournament.
He had to overcome spells of pressure in the first set to save seven break points on his final two service games but was on the front foot in the second, dropping just four points on first serve to earn his career-best win.
“I was pretty nervous in that last game,” Samuel said. “I’m happy to have got through that one, otherwise it would have been a bit tight the rest of the set.
“It’s been crazy, I’m so grateful to be in this situation here. It’s surreal, playing my first ATP event and making the semi-finals also.”
The Brit will take on another top-100 player in Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, who ended Briton Jan Choinski’s run in the quarter-final, and should he overcome him, Samuel would be only the second lucky loser to reach the Eastbourne men’s singles final.
In the men’s doubles competition, Neal Skupki and Luke Johnson both bowed out in today’s semi-finals.
Skupski and Christian Harrison lost out 7-5, 6-3 to French pairing Arthur Reymond and Sadio Doumbia while Johnson and Jan Zielinski were beaten 6-4, 6-2 by fourth seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
