Three British men are still alive in Eastbourne, and that list includes Jack Draper — who will battle Gabriel Diallo in the quarterfinals on Thursday. An all-French showdown features Ugo Humbert and Quentin Halys.
Jack Draper vs. Gabriel Diallo
Draper is playing a tournament for the first time in more than two months, making his comeback at the Eastbourne Open following his most recent injury setback. The world No. 160 had not played since Barcelona in mid-April due to a knee problem until he beat lucky loser Marcos Giron 6-4, 7-6(5) in round one — which preceded a 7-5, 6-4 win over fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones.
Up next for Draper on Thursday is a quarterfinal showdown against Diallo, whom he has never faced. It has been a terrible season for the 91st-ranked Canadian, but a title last summer in ‘s-Hertogenbosch shows that he can find success on grass. Diallo is doing just that in Eastbourne, where he has dismissed Terence Atmane 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5 and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(11), 6-3, 6-2. Unfortunately for Diallo, Draper is considerable step up in grass-court competition and the former world No. 4 can only be expected to improve as he gets more and more match practice.
Pick: Draper in 2
(6) Ugo Humbert vs. (LL) Quentin Halys
Humbert and Halys will be facing each other for the fourth time on Thursday. Halys leads the head-to-head series 2-1 after most recently cruising 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-6(8) a few weeks ago at Roland Garros. They previous split a pair of indoor hard-court contests much earlier in their careers.
Halys is on his second life in Eastbourne, having lost in qualifying. In fact, the 101st-ranked Frenchman did not even make it out of the first round — getting blown out right away by Toby Samuel 6-2, 6-4. However, an overwhelming number of withdrawals gave Halys a lucky-loser spot — and a spot all the way to round two thanks to Joao Fonseca’s exit. The 29-year-old capitalized on his new opportunity with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Gilles Hussey on Wednesday. Humbert, who was a semifinalist at Queen’s Club, has defeated Mattia Bellucci and Jenson Brooksby. The left-hander is in superior form and is also the better grass-court player, so he should advance.
Pick: Humbert in 2