BNP Paribas Open: Have you met Jack Draper the Dream Crusher?

Jack Draper sounds like the name of a private investigator who doesn’t play by the rules but still gets the job done.

But Jack Draper is actually a tennis player from Great Britain. He does play by the rules. And at this year’s BNP Paribas Open, he is definitely getting the job done.

Draper has worked his way into Saturday’s semifinals, the farthest he’s ever gone at a Masters 1000 event, playing pitch-perfect tennis. Dazzling passing shots. Consistent serving. Mental fortitude to play his best at the biggest moments in his matches.

There’s just one problem, and it’s not his fault. This entire tournament, he’s feasted on fan-favorites. Call it the bad luck of the draw, but he has four wins so far, and all of them have come over opponents that the hometown fans have come to see. Let’s take a look at the path of destruction for Jack Draper the dream-crusher.

His first match was against Brazilian wunderkind Joao Fonseca, who is the 18-year-old talent who has captured tennis fans hearts and is already an idol in Brazil. At a jam-packed Stadium 4 last week, with fans roaring and Brazilian flags waving, Draper defeated young Fonseca 6-4, 6-0.

Next up was perhaps a surprise trip to Stadium 1 to face American Jenson Brooksby, who just returned to tennis in January after a two-year hiatus due to a combination of injury and suspension. Brooksby was playing well and working his way back into form before Draper eliminated him 7-5, 6-4.

“OK,” American fans said, “Brooksby is one thing, but let’s see how you do against our highest-rated player. He’s won this event and he’s from Southern California. His name is Taylor Fritz. Our Taylor Fritz.” Draper bounced Fritz from the tournament by the same score of 7-5, 6-4.

That put him into Thursday’s quarterfinal against, you guessed it, another American — the hard-serving, fun-loving ball of energy Ben Shelton. A win by Shelton would give fans the Shelton vs. Carlos Alcaraz semifinal that everyone was dreaming of. Draper doesn’t care about your dreams. He eliminated Shelton, this time reversing his favorite score 6-4, 7-5.

Why Draper? Why won’t you let us have nice things?

In all seriousness, it’s been an impressive run for Draper and he could jump into the top 10 in the world rankings by the end of the weekend. He’s only 23 and the type of player that in other circumstances would be easy to root for.

Next up for Draper is Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion. The 21-year-old with an infectious smile and the game to match. He’s exciting. He’s lovable. He’s going for a rare three-peat and he’s … uh oh. Wait a minute.

Draper’s going to do it again. Isn’t he?

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Have you met Jack Draper the Dream Crusher?