Draper denied place in Eastbourne final by Humbert

Jack Draper missed out on a place in the Eastbourne final as Ugo Humbert ended the Briton’s encouraging return to competition following injury.

Draper, 24, had earned three consecutive straight-set wins to reach the semi-finals at his first tournament in more than two months, after he sustained a knee injury at the Barcelona Open in April.

The former world number four gained more valuable time on court before turning his attention to Wimbledon, but he lost 7-5 6-3 after 100 minutes in sapping conditions against the 30th-ranked Humbert.

Draper, who has fallen to 160th in the world amid his injury struggles, learned on Friday that he will meet American sixth seed Taylor Fritz in a tough opening assignment at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.

He and his coaching team, which now includes two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray, will be pleased with the progress he has shown this week as he seeks a gradual return to his former level.

In the 18 months prior to his challenging year dealing with injuries to arm, knee and shoulder, Draper reached the US Open semi-finals and won his first ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells.

Speaking about Draper after his victory, Humbert said: “It’s nice to see Jack back on the court. He was really impressive and I think I was a bit lucky in the second set.”

The Frenchman, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, added: “It was the best gift I could have today. Tonight I will recover and be ready for tomorrow, so no big party.”

Humbert will face Zizou Bergs in Saturday’s men’s final, after the Belgian denied Briton Toby Samuel his shot at glory on home soil.

Samuel, ranked 142nd in the world and who only qualified for the main draw as a lucky loser, had never won a tour-level match before this week.

But, searching for his third straight victory in Eastbourne, the 23-year-old maintained his momentum after stunning world number 45 Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the quarter-finals by taking the first set against the 48th-ranked Bergs.

Seeking to become only the second lucky loser to reach the Eastbourne men’s singles final, and move to the brink of the world’s top 100 having been ranked outside the top 1,000 just 12 months ago, Samuel served for the match at 5-4 in the second set.

But he was broken in that 10th game, and Bergs would go on to clinch a tie-break before eventually completing a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory.

Saturday’s women’s final will feature American Madison Keys and Germany’s Tatjana Maria, after both players progressed following mid-match retirements by their respective opponents.

Two-time Eastbourne champion Keys, 31, took the first set 6-1 before Croatia’s 20-year-old lucky loser Petra Marcinko decided not to continue.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old tournament debutant Maria, champion at Queen’s last summer, led world number 35 Jelena Ostapenko 6-1 1-2 before the Latvian pulled out through illness.