2 Responses to queens98draper_tieleman.

1. Voo de Mar says:

   June 20, 2026 at 7:04 pm

   Points won by each set: | 41-41, 29-23 |
   Unreturned serves:
   38 % Draper – 26 of 67
   46 % Tieleman – 31 of 67

   The most unexpected final in the Queens Club history [108 vs 253 ranking-wise]. It was a crazy week, heavy & constant rain (12 minutes of play on Monday, nothing on Thursday!) caused the courts were exceptionally slippery, matches frequently suspended, and it opened up the draw for unpredictable outcomes. Anyway credit to both finalists because they had defeated (after tight matches) two main favourites behind Sampras: Draper ousted Rafter while Tieleman upset the local fans overcoming Henman 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 saving two match points. The final was played in very fast pace, Draper – applying the serve-and-volley strategy behind his 1st serves – was taken to ‘deuce’ (twice) only in his first service game. Tieleman, with a classical S/V on grass, had no problem at holding except the opening service game of the 2nd set when he didn’t recover after losing the tie-break, and quickly found himself at 0/40. “It’s flattering, but it doesn’t fit,” 24-year-old Draper responded to comparison to his compatriot Rod Laver. “You’re talking about a guy who is the greatest legend in international tennis, and I’m a no one. It’s frustrating to hear people always building you up, saying you’ve got all the shots, and you’re losing in the first round.”

   Draper’s route to his lone title (68th main-level event):
   1 Michael Tebbutt 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
   2 Patrick Rafter 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
   3 Brett Steven 7-6(6), 7-6(3) ☆
   Q Doug Flach 7-6(7), 7-6(5)
   S Mark Woodforde 6-3, 6-2
   W Laurence Tieleman 7-6(5), 6-4

   ☆ Draper won 3R and QF, both matches within the same day (Friday); his SF vs Woodforde was postponed at 5:2* in 2nd set so he needed to win only one game on Sunday while in the other semifinal Tieleman defeated Byron Black 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 (suspension at 2:1 in 2nd set on Saturday)

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   June 20, 2026 at 7:17 pm

   ☆☆ Laurence Tieleman, the son of a Flemish father and an Italian mother (they lived in Belgium), spent his formative tennis years in the United States (from 13 to 17), he could represent one of three different countries and chose Italy. Queens Club ’98 it’s a tournament of his life. He went through the qualifying rounds (Suzuki 6-4, 6-2; Osorio 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Nainkin 2-6, 6-3, 7-5), and certainly could be satisfied by reaching the third round having played 3R at Wimbledon ’93 as his best result. In the third round at Queens when everyone expected his defeat, Rusedski sprained his ankle at 2:2 though, then Tieleman won two more matches from a set down to make five wins in a row in total. Never before or after he was able to win four consecutive main-level matches. His quarterfinal victory over Henman it’s the biggest one in his career, but circumstances were super beneficial – when they were playing the deciding set it was a 6th set that day for Henman, a 3rd for Tieleman.

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