Jack Draper set for milestone rankings breakthrough as rivals fall by the wayside

Jack Draper is set to becoming British men’s singles No 1 for the first time next week after his run to the Stuttgart quarter-finals was coupled with a shock loss for Cameron Norrie in Nottingham.

Current world No 40 Draper has had a patchy year so far, with a 13-12 win/loss record on the ATP Tour and several tight losses – including a tight five-set loss to Jesper de Jong at the French Open .

But on the grass at the Stuttgart Open this week, the rising star – who has reached two ATP Tour finals – has looked back near his best.

The sixth seed beat Sebastian Ofner in two tiebreak sets in his round one match at the ATP 250 event, before battling past Marcus Giron – conqueror of Andy Murray – in three sets to reach the last eight.

On paper, the 22-year-old has a tough task next against Frances Tiafoe, the fourth seed and defending Stuttgart champion.

But with the American out of form this season, Draper will surely fancy his chances of pulling off a minor upset.

Draper is currently up five spots in the ATP Live Rankings to world No 35, level to his career-high achieved earlier this year.

Quarter-final victory would push him up to 33rd, and he could potentially become a top-30 player with a maiden ATP title.

But, no matter what happens throughout the rest of the week, he is guaranteed to become the national No 1 for the first time next Monday.

Incumbent Norrie dropped six spots to world No 39 on Monday after his five-set loss to Pavel Kotov in round one at Roland Garros – just one spot above Draper.

And the former Indian Wells champion suffered a shock loss to another Brit, collegiate star Jack Pinnington Jones, at the Challenger event in Nottingham on Thursday.

The top seed was beaten 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 by the 21-year-old – who, like Norrie, represented Texas Christian University in NCAA competition.

Norrie’s defeat means he can be ranked no higher than world No 38 next Monday, and will not be the British No 1 for the first time since October 2021.

Draper’s rise comes at a potentially crucial time, with the focus on British players more intense than ever across the grass season.

The Brit missed the grass season 12 months ago so has plenty of opportunities to earn more ranking points – most noticeably at Queen’s and Wimbledon .

And his rise ensures there is a British male towards the top of the game, with Norrie and Dan Evans having slipped down the rankings, and Murray potentially retiring this summer.