Jack Draper has received a significant boost in his bid to win Wimbledon - before the tournament has even started.
Draper is the world No6 and Britain’s highest-ranked player in either the men’s or women’s draws.
The 23-year-old, who was a 2024 US Open semi-finalist, has never gone beyond the second round at Wimbledon.
But he has now received a major boost after Corentin Moutet’s surprise victory over world No5 Taylor Fritz in the first round at Queen’s paved the way for Draper to grab a top-four seeding in the men’s draw at the All England Club.
Draper is battling it out with Fritz to gain the top-four ranking heading into Wimbledon.
Whichever player secures it will avoid the world’s three highest-ranked players, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, until the semi-finals.
Draper would accrue enough points to jump above Novak Djokovic and Fritz in the rankings and claim that place for himself if he reaches at least the semi-finals at Queen’s this week.
Having beaten American Jenson Brooksby in the first round on Tuesday, he now meets tricky Australian Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.
Wimbledon separates the four top-ranked players into different quarters of the main draw each year, which is why securing a top-four ranking is such an advantage.
