Jack Draper defeated Matteo Berrettini in his Qatar Open quarter-final.

Jack Draper is into the semi-finals of the Qatar Open (Image: Getty)

Jack Draper will leave the Qatar Open with a morale-boosting sweetener regardless of how his semi-final goes on Friday.

The Brit booked his spot in the last four with a spirited comeback win over Matteo Berrettini in Doha. Berrettini toppled Novak Djokovic earlier this week and he took the first set off Draper with an exhibition of big serving.

But the 23-year-old came roaring back to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 and set up a semi with Jiri Lehecka. Draper’s deep run guarantees that he will reach a career-high ATP ranking once the scores are settled.

Currently ranked 15th, he is projected to sit 14th if he crashes out in the semi-finals, 12th if he reaches the final and 11th with an overall victory. Draper continues to surge up the pecking order and threaten in big tournaments.

Jiri Lehecka will battle Jack Draper for a place in the Qatar Open final (Image: Getty)

He broke his duck last year by winning his first ATP Tour title at the Stuttgart Open in June. Four months later he added a second, upgrading to an ATP 500 accolade at the Vienna Open.

He is now only two wins away from another ATP 500 title, and he may fancy his chances given the way the tournament has panned out.

Heavyweight players have been dropping like flies all week. Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was the latest to fall, losing in three sets to Lehecka on the same Thursday that saw Daniil Medvedev retire and Alex de Minaur beaten.

As a result, Draper is the second-highest seed left in the competition behind Andrey Rublev. But the Briton refuses to take Lehecka lightly following his upset win over Alcaraz.

“Jiri is obviously having a great start to the season,” he said. “As incredible a champion as Carlos is, there are so many great players in this draw. Jiri being one of them.

“He’s confident. He’s playing well. Anything can happen at this level. The margins are so small. It’s going to be a great match tomorrow. Hopefully I can get through.”

Berrettini gave Draper his toughest test of the tournament after one-sided wins over Alexei Popyrin and Christopher O’Connell in the first two rounds. But there is no doubt the towering Londoner is on the charge after reaching the US Open semi-finals at the back end of last season and the Australian Open fourth round last month.