Draper is the last Brit standing after dumping Peniston

anD then there was one. after a memorable few days for British tennis here at Eastbourne, only Jack the lad remains standing.

Jack Draper, 20, will carry the flag into the singles semi-finals after beating compatriot Ryan Peniston yesterday.

Earlier, Cameron norrie and Harriet Dart lost their quarterfinals to players who are making a habit of collecting home scalps. Maxime Cressy did for Dan Evans on Wednesday and then edged past norrie 7-5, 7-5.

next on Centre Court, Dart was outclassed by Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion who beat Katie Boulter 24 hours earlier. no disgrace there but, for norrie, losing to the world no60 was hardly the ideal way to prepare for leading the British charge at SW19.

‘I don’t know why I am getting asked so much about being British no1,’ he said. ‘For me, it’s not the biggest deal in the world. Obviously, it is great to be British no1, but it does not mean anything.

‘It’s very cool to be leading all the British guys in the rankings, but I am just focusing on trying to go deep in Wimby.’

This was the world no 12’s second Eastbourne quarter-final and his second defeat. He still awaits a first title on grass.

Draper remains in the hunt after he beat Peniston, who reached the quarter-finals with victory over Pedro Martinez earlier in the day. against Draper, Peniston broke early in both sets, only for the 20-year-old to twice wrestle back control. It ended 6-3, 6-3.

Today, Draper (below) will face Cressy and learn his first-round fate at Wimbledon. On debut last year, he faced novak Djokovic.

‘I was in aorgani Park watching it on the big screen,’ he recalled. ‘Hopefully, this time I will be on court when it happens so I am not getting nervous. ‘I definitely believe in my ability and my game to beat the best players in the world, especially on grass.

‘I’ll go to Wimbledon confident whoever I play. There’s no doubt I can go far next week but at the same time a lot of things need to fall into place.’

after her marathon Wednesday, Dart eventually succumbed to Kvitova’s quality, losing 6-3, 6-4. The British no 2’s run in the doubles with Heather Watson is over, too, as they were beaten by Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 in the quarter-finals.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares lost their semi-final 6-4, 6-4 to nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, while Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from her last-four doubles match after an injury to partner Ons Jabeur.