Jack Draper hits 31 aces to dethrone defending champion Frances Tiafoe in Stuttgart quarterfinals

Great Britain's Jack Draper served up a big win on Friday at the Boss Open in more ways than one. The sixth seed struck a staggering 31 aces to dethrone defending champion Frances Tiafoe, the No. 4 seed, in the quarterfinals, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).

Making his tournament debut, the win puts Draper through to his sixth career ATP semifinal, and the world No. 40 is projected to rise at least seven spots in the ATP rankings to a new career-high of No. 33—and, crucially, just one spot outside a guaranteed seed for Wimbledon in three weeks. Draper missed his home Grand Slam event last year due to a shoulder injury.

Draper did not face a break point in the second or third sets of his two-hour and six-minute victory against world No. 28 Tiafoe, earning him his best win by ranking since he beat then-No. 14 Tommy Paul in Acapulco in February.

After losing the first set, Draper stayed ahead on serve for all of the second before winning eight of the final nine points. The story was the same for the Brit in the decider: After holding serve from 0-30 behind in the opening game, he served his way to staying in front for the duration.

After failing to convert a match point in the 10th game, Draper won the first two points of the tiebreak, and the last five.

"My last three tiebreaks in the third set, I have lost them all, so to come through today is amazing and I am really proud of my level," Draper said post-match. "I am really happy with how I served and it was a really high-quality match."

The 22-year-old Brit will bid to reach his third career ATP singles final, and first off of hard courts, against American Brandon Nakashima. The American, also 22, advanced to the semifinals when Jan-Lennard Struff, last year's finalist, withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal match due to illness.

Two-time tournament champion Matteo Berrettini is also through to the semifinals, in just his second tournament since winning in Marrakech in April. Thirteen aces was more than enough to see the 2019 and 2022 winner through against James Duckworth 7-5, 6-4; he did not face a break point in the straight-sets win.

After missing six months due to an ankle injury he suffered at the 2023 US Open, physical problems also plagued Berrettini's spring. For the third straight year, the Italian missed both Rome and Roland Garros, with the Italian saying he was "nearly there" but "not quite ready" for the rigor of five-set matches in announcing his withdrawal from Paris.

Berrettini will face compatriot Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals, bidding to become the second man in the Open Era to win three Stuttgart titles after Rafael Nadal. The fifth-seeded Musetti advanced after Alexander Bublik retired from their quarterfinal due to a left leg injury with the Italian leading 4-6, 6-1, 1-0.