Jack Draper vs Sebastian Baez: Score and latest Wimbledon updates

Telegraph

a day ago

01 July 2025 5:49pm
5:49PM
Draper will win big, big titles': Sinner on bromance with British No 1
By Simon Briggs
Jannik Sinner was in a snoozy mood. He must have yawned three or four times while I was interviewing him, which does not say much for the originality of my questions.
But one subject sparked his interest. Asked about his friendship with Jack Draper – the latest British hero to enter the labyrinth of Wimbledon – Sinner perked up noticeably and leaned forward. From the beady look in his eye, he could have been preparing to return serve.
'You're lucky to have a player like him,' said Sinner, the top seed and world No 1. 'After Andy [Murray], they need someone big. He [Draper] is someone big, and he's someone who is going to stay there for a very, very long time.'
Click here to read the rest of Simon's interview with the Italian world No 1.
5:43PM
Draper has been fuelled by 'nepo baby' jibes
By Simon Briggs
There was a period in Jack Draper's life – the best part of a decade, in fact – when he could barely enter a tournament without someone bringing up his parentage.
As the son of Roger Draper, the man who ran British tennis from 2007 to 2013, Jack was the ultimate nepo baby. Rival parents saw him as a lucky swine, unfairly promoted ahead of their own little darlings.
This is entirely typical of junior tennis: a seething cauldron of jealousy and spite that would make an irresistible reality TV show.
Such resentments inevitably fed through to the other young players. When I first interviewed Draper, in the summer of 2020, he told me, 'I would often go to junior tournaments and have 15 boys on the balcony I had never seen before willing me on to lose, making noises before I serve.'
One wonders what all those hecklers are thinking now, as Draper prepares to enter Wimbledon as the fourth seed. Do they still believe that his career benefited from preferential treatment? Do they imagine themselves walking out on No1 Court, if only they had been similarly favoured?
Click here to read the rest of Simon's piece.
5:34PM
Boost for Draper
Before Draper has even stepped onto court, he will have been boosted by the surprise exit of Alexander Bublik, who knocked him out of the French Open last month.
Bublik, fresh from capturing his second Halle title last month, cut a frustrated figure towards the end of a lacklustre opening set against Jaume Munar on Court No 14 where he surrendered his serve two times and barely dipped into his bag of tricks.
Having swapped his headband for a cap to shield himself from the heat, Bublik appeared a player transformed in the next set as he quickly found his range and erased the deficit after forcing Munar into a backhand error on set point.
The big crowds braving conditions on the outside court to catch the Kazakh trickster had to settle for a more workmanlike display early in the third set as Bublik fought back from 1-3 down before offering glimpses of his drop-shot brilliance.
With his tail up after securing the third set, 28th seed Bublik raced ahead in the fourth and was serving for the match at 5-4 before Munar clawed back to make it two sets apiece via the tiebreak.
Munar capitalised from there as the world No 55 took control of the match with an early break in the decider and sent his opponent tumbling out with minimum fuss.
5:24PM
Draper begins title bid
Hello and welcome to coverage of the great British hope for Wimbledon, Jack Draper.
Last year, Draper crashed out in the second round to Cameron Norrie in a very disappointing result. Since then, the 23-year-old has enjoyed an excellent 12 months, winning two titles including his first Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells.
He has also risen to fourth in the world rankings and that means expectations are high for a decent run this year.
'Obviously when Andy retired, they said I was the next in line,' said Draper. 'I know it's Wimbledon coming up, but I think I didn't really think about it then, and I've improved so much and put myself in this position.
'I'll do my best to keep trying and improving, to show my best tennis out there, to hopefully present myself as the player and the person I want to be.
'Obviously Andy has done an unbelievable job of that and has been incredibly successful and has become adored by the nation. It's obviously big shoes to fill. I'm aware of that. At the same time I'm confident in myself that hopefully I can inspire people like Andy has done.'
Draper's prospects do not appear to have been helped by a brutal draw that put young star Jakub Mensik, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner all in his path.
But the fourth seed is not yet looking past his first-round opponent, Argentina's Sebastian Baez.
'I haven't looked at that at all,' he said. 'I look at my first round, who I have. I respect every person in the draw. Obviously I've got Baez on Tuesday, and I'm not looking further than that.
'I know he's a strong player. He's here off his own merit. I look no further than him. I try and think about that as I go on. But, firstly, we'll start with that one.'