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All eyes have been on Draper this week as he takes on the pressure of being the great British hope with Wimbledon approaching at the end of this month.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old has said he is comfortable dealing with that weight of expectation, and underlined that belief with this battling display.<\/p>\n
He did, however, start slowly as a run of 11 consecutive points for Popyrin – briefly interrupted by an unexpected sudden gust of wind that sent a hat and bits of paper on to the court – led to the Australian taking the first set.<\/p>\n
It was the second match in a row where Draper has taken his time to get into his groove and he revealed he had been struggling a bit with illness this week.<\/p>\n
“I’ve not been feeling great actually, to be honest, the last day and a half,” he told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
“I was a bit flat out there. My body feels good but I was a bit under the weather.”<\/p>\n
Draper will have his eyes firmly set on claiming a maiden title at Queen’s but he will have another incentive to keep progressing as reaching the semi-finals will mean he is seeded fourth at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
That would mean avoiding facing the likes of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n
“It’s obviously a big thing,” Draper said. “I think it would definitely help. But at the same time, I don’t think I will think about that at all.<\/p>\n
“I can’t control who I’m playing, can’t control any of those things, but I can control what I do between now and the next match, and I’ll prepare the best I can.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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