Jack Draper was unable to build on his sparkling win over Carlos Alcaraz as he missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the cinch Championships.
British number one Draper secured the biggest win of his career when he ended the Queen’s Club reign of Wimbledon champion Alcaraz on Thursday.
But the 22-year-old was outgunned by American fifth seed Tommy Paul, going down 6-3 5-7 6-4 in two hours and one minute.
Draper battled back from a set down but a lapse midway through the decider saw him broken to love – capped with a double-fault – to swing the match Paul’s way.
Defeat ended Draper’s seven-match winning streak after he lifted his first ATP title in Stuttgart last week.
DREAM WEEKS
Nevertheless it has been a dream couple of weeks for Draper, who suffered with injuries last year but on Monday overtook Cameron Norrie to become the country’s top-ranked player.
“Physically I felt good. My body’s been great. It just becomes, you know, mentally quite taxing, having to go day after day,” he said.
“I finished Stuttgart on Sunday, and I got here very, very late on Sunday.
“Then training and then winning again on Tuesday. Obviously the match yesterday, it felt like there was quite a lot of energy and emotion invested in that.
“Yeah, I was definitely having to pick myself up. I felt quite flat at times. I think that kind of showed in my decision-making at certain times in the match. I played a few more sloppy shots than I wanted to.
“But at the end of the day, if I want to be one of the best players in the world, then I have to keep on backing up my performances and get used to, you know, going deep every week.
“That’s what I want to get to, and that’s kind of what I was disappointed about today.”
NEWS ON BILLY HARRIS
British interest in the singles is over after van man Billy Harris hit the skids in his bid to reach the semi-finals.
The 29-year-old wild card from Nottingham was a surprise quarter-finalist having spent most of his nomadic career travelling to lower-ranked tournaments in a transit van.
But his journey in west London ground to a halt against turbo-charged Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who won 6-3 7-5 in an hour and 39 minutes
However, Harris can now treat himself to a new set of wheels with a hefty pay cheque for four days’ work.
Having been guaranteed £60,000 by being granted a Wimbledon wild card on Wednesday, his run to the last eight took his earnings for the week to £121,000.
Prior to Queen’s, Harris’ total career prize money was £230,000.
“It’s definitely going to help, it’s expensive getting around in this sport so any money you can get is a massive help,” said the 6ft 4in right-hander.
“Will I treat myself? A new van, maybe, potentially. I drive a Mini Cooper at the moment.
“It’s a bit tight, I get in and out of a van a bit easier.”
In the doubles, Neal Skupski won the battle of Britain against his Olympics partner Joe Salisbury.
Skupski and New Zealand’s Michael Venus beat Salisbury and America’s Rajeev Ram 7-6 (5) 7-6 (6).