LONDON, June 14, 2019 (Press Release)
Talented teenager Jack Draper and 2011 semifinalist James Ward have been awarded wild cards by the LTA into the qualifying draw of the Fever-Tree Championships, which starts at The Queen’s Club tomorrow.
Draper, a 17-year-old left-hander, reached the final of the Boys tournament at The Championships, Wimbledon last year and has been transitioning to the senior game since then.
Ward, 32, reached the final four in 2011 with victories over three-time Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka and 2010 champion Sam Querrey at The Queen’s Club. He is continuing his return after knee surgery a couple of years ago.
Leon Smith, LTA Head of Men’s Tennis and Davis Cup Captain, said: “This is a great opportunity for Jack and James, and one they both deserve. Jack showed his potential by reaching the the Wimbledon boys final last year and this week won his first main draw ATP Challenger match in Nottingham before losing in a high quality match to Dan Evans in the second round. Fever-Tree Championships qualifying will be another good test for him against Top 100 players. James played some of the best tennis of his career to reach the semis eight years ago. He had good performances at Surbiton Challenger last week including a win against Sergiy Stakhovsky and will be looking to keep momentum going again at The Queen’s Club.”
Draper and Cameron Norrie have also been given a wild card into doubles qualifying.
It is free for spectators to access The Queen’s Club to watch qualifying at the Fever-Tree Championships over the weekend of 15th and 16th June, but limited to 800 people. All visitors to the tournament will be subject to security bag scans.
Qualifying draws will be made this evening, with singles and doubles main draws conducted tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon UK. The main draws will be streamed live on the tournament’s Facebook page.
SINGLES QUALIFYING ENTRY LIST
Name – Ranking
1 Adrian Mannarino – 44
2 Nicolas Jarry – 60
3 Roberto Carballes Baena – 73
4 Alexander Bublik – 85
5 Bernard Tomic – 88
6 Bradley Klahn – 89
7 Prajnesh Gunneswaran – 91
8 Ivo Karlovic – 86
9 Aljaz Bedene – 93
10 Alexei Popyrin – 103
11 Matthias Bachinger – 119
12 Peter Polansky – 131
13 Tommy Paul – 138
WC Nicolas Mahut – 189
WC James Ward – 204
WC Jack Draper – 571
