French sixth seed Ugo Humbert defeated Britain's Jack Draper 7-5, 6-3 in the Eastbourne Open semifinals on Friday, June 26, 2026.
The 100-minute grass-court match on Centre Court ended Draper's successful return from a knee injury ahead of Wimbledon.
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Draper Faces Tough Wimbledon Draw
Draper, currently ranked 160th following an injury-plagued season, will face world number seven Taylor Fritz in the first round of Wimbledon as an unseeded player.
"It's definitely a tricky one, isn't it? I was prepared that I was going to play someone who's a top seed," said Draper.
The former world number four added that his lack of a seeded spot makes the grand slam tournament a lottery.
"I've lost my ranking and I've lost my seeded place in the slam so I have to work up the rankings to get that back, so it's a lottery really," Draper stated.
Draper recently joined forces with a new coaching staff that features two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray.
"Obviously Taylor is a great player. We've played multiple times already, and it's going to be a really, really good battle.
It's going to be a tough match. I'm looking forward to it," continued Draper.
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Humbert praised his opponent's performance on the court following the match.
"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," said Humbert.
The victory fell on the Frenchman's 28th birthday, making him the first Frenchman in the Eastbourne final since 2017.
"It was the best gift I could have today. Tonight I will recover and be ready for tomorrow, so no big party," added Humbert.
Humbert will face Zizou Bergs in the men's final after the Belgian defeated British lucky loser Toby Samuel 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
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In the women's draw, Madison Keys will play Tatjana Maria in the final following mid-match retirements by Petra Marcinko and Jelena Ostapenko.
