British number one Jack Draper had to dig deep and come from a set down to reach the quarter-finals of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club for a third time.

The 23-year-old dropped the opening set to tricky Australian world number 21 Alexei Popyrin, but gathered himself to level the match.

He then came through a deciding-set tie-break to win a gruelling contest 3-6 6-2 7-6 (5) in two hours and 13 minutes.

If Draper breaks new ground and reaches a maiden semi-final in west London, he will be seeded fourth at Wimbledon.

“It was a tough match, credit to Alexei, he played some amazing tennis,” he said.

“I love playing at home and in front of my friends and family. It’s an emotional moment.

“In the first couple of sets it wasn’t pretty at all, I need time to adjust to the grass but it’s one more under the belt.”

Draper forced two break points in the seventh game of the first set, but two 130mph aces got Popyrin out of trouble.

The Briton then lost concentration momentarily and before he knew it, Popyrin had three break points.

The set quickly disappeared, although play was briefly held up when a bizarre gust of wind engulfed the Andy Murray Arena, sending a spectator’s hat flying into Popyrin and large bits of felt from the barriers swirling on to the court.

However, it was Draper who got a second wind with a double break to draw level.

His serving got him in trouble and back out of it after a double-fault gave Popyrin a break point at the start of the decider, with a big serve and then an ace clinching a vital hold.

Popyrin clung on valiantly, saving two match points as he served at 4-5, and in the tie-break he led 4-2.

But Draper stepped on the gas to win five of the last six points, finishing the job with an ace.