Several fans shared their furious reactions as British tennis player Jack Draper struck an advertisement board during his HSBC Championships semifinals clash against Jiri Lehecka. The latter eventually won the match in three sets to advance to the final against Carlos Alcaraz, scheduled to be played on Sunday (June 22).
Draper trailed early in the match and lost the first set 4-6, but came back strongly in the second set, winning it 6-4. The penultimate set was nervier with the score being 5-5 at one point, and Lehecka broke Draper to gain the advantage going into the next game, which the Czech player eventually won to beat Draper.
During the third set, after getting broken by Lehecka, Draper hit his racket in rage on an advertisement board, dismantling a part of the board and also his racket. A fan reacted to this racket smash from Draper and questioned the lack of stricter action for harming property. The fan wrote:
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"How is senseless violence and destruction of property not an automatic disqualification..."
Another fan called out Draper for his furious action after losing a point in front of his home crowd.
"Striking the hard to maintain grass court in front of your home fans and your knee like a psycho after losing a point, you will never make me like Jack Draper."
Another netizen remarked, stating that it was easy for Draper to be a gentleman when he was away from the spotlight. They wrote:
"Wasn’t he a gentleman? Oh… Jack Draper is showing his true colors. After all, it’s easy to pretend when you’re not in the spotlight 🙃"
Here are a few other reactions:
"Yeah, I didn't like that one bit. Wonder if he pays for the damage?" wrote a fan.
"hitting his own sponsor too while he’s at it. oh Jack Draper, they’ll never make me like you," stated another fan.
"What if Novak Djokovic did this? Would be: defaulted, fined, deported to immigration camp and jailed," remarked another fan.
Jack Draper opens up about his aspirations for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
Jack Draper shed light on his aspirations for the upcoming Wimbledon Championships. The competition is scheduled to start on Draper's home turf later this month.
In an interview after his defeat to Jiri Lehecka, Draper said that he was overwhelmed by the support at Queens Club. The 23-year-old also mentioned that he was feeling good ahead of Wimbledon. He said (via ATP Tour);
"'I've really felt the home support all week, it’s a real advantage and it helps drive me on. At the same time, I’ve got a job to do and I’m not thinking about pressures like that. I’m going to go into Wimbledon feeling great about myself."
Draper has had some notable performances in recent months, which are highlighted by the Indian Wells Masters victory and reaching the finals of the Madrid Open and the Qatar Open.
