Jack Draper vs Sebastian Baez – Wimbledon 2025: Live score and set-by-set updates as British No 1 starts his bid for glory

Arthur Rinderknech has just caused a MASSIVE upset to knock out third seed Sasha Zverev in the longest match of this year’s championship so far.

The Frenchman turns 30 this month and has never been past the first round at Wimbledon before.

Sharpening up his serve, Baez holds after carefully angling a drop-shot over the net to a running Draper.

He can only fumble into the net, and look to take the set on serve.

Baez is some way off his potential on No1 Court, but he lets out a cry of effort as he smacks a forehand towards Draper – and gets on the board 30-15 when Draper blinks, and shunts his return into the net.

But it’s a momentary reprieve, as two more aces wrap up the game.

‘Come on Sebastian’, the crowd calls out now, hungry for a game and trying to urge him over the line at 40-15.

A loopy forehand is sent out into the doubles alley which brings up deuce, and the fight seems to ebb from Baez as he continues to get pulverised by Draper’s powerful returns.

His attempt to smash past Draper soars past the baseline, handing Draper the aadvantage, and with an on-the-run forehand, he claims the double break! Sensational hitting from the Briton.

Business as usual for Draper. Healthy Baez, injured Baez – it matters not a jot for the British No1, who flies through his service game in moments, not minutes.

The show must go on – for now.

After a brief massage and some taping-up of the knee, Baez trots back to the baseline.

This is a relief, not just for his well-being, and the crowd keen for a match to savour, but Draper will be keen for more minutes on the grass too.

After doing the splits inadvertently, the movement hasn’t been pitch-perfect, and he gets his left knee tended to.

This is really unfortunate for the Argentine.

Baez gets a handle on his service game as Draper takes his eye off the ball for a game, and allows the Argentine to hold.

The Briton has been returning from the only patch on court at the moment still in bright sunshine, but that’s an excuse only to be used in an emergency, which this isn’t.

Baez is slow of the mark to catch another of those picture-perfect forehands down the line, but this is a slower service game than Draper has been used to today.

But the bulleted serves continue to fly with some accuracy, and although some sharper returning from Baez forces him the long way round, he claims the hold with minimal fuss.

After a quick t-shirt change for Draper, he’s back out and unruffled, the British No1 continuing to punish Baez.

At 40-30, Baez slips and falls into a half-splits, prompting concern from the crowd. After his racquet is returned by a ball-kid, he gets gingerly to his feet.

Baez continues to look a little hesitant charging to the net for Draper to bring up deuce. The Briton takes the advantage with a good-looking down-the-line forehand, and an overcooked backhand gifts Draper his third break of the match.

Here is how the first set played out by the numbers…

Baez is springing from foot-to-foot on the baseline, still looking hungry even if he’s being turned around by Draper.

He’s twisted around by Draper’s fourth ace of the match, then bamboozled by another effort at 136mph. A third set wraps things up in just 26 minutes.

This has been exactly what the doctor ordered for Draper’s return to his home Grand Slam.

Pat Cash, former Wimbledon champion, is impressed with what he’s seeing from Jack Draper here:

Jack Draper is pretty comfortable at the back of the court and his strength is to really just keep getting balls back and rallying and rallying.

If you hit a big shot on the grass court it’s going to put a lot of pressure on the Argentine player.

The only risk is if somehow Draper gets a little bit careful and starts getting into rallies and Sebastian Baez gets some rhythm, but that isn’t the Draper we’ve seen over the last year.

At 40-15, Baez gets exceedingly unlucky as his thoughtful net volley springs out into the doubles alley, allowing Draper a shot at another break.

The Argentine comes in clutch however, with a spinning forehand winner to keep a hold on his serve and force Draper to serve the set out.

‘Come on, Jack!’, a flurry of children’s voices call in unison from the stands. He’ll have the crowd in raptures with a thrashing on No 1 Court this early evening, and looks well on his way to supplying them as he continues to feed aces towards Baez.

A good-looking and sharply angled cross-court forehand is far too zippy for Baez for 40-love, and an ace confirms the hold. This is a tennis clinic from the Briton.

Am I a cynic or when you see a psychologist – maybe you can help me with this – who has never been on a tennis court and they tell you how you can beat Carlos Alcaraz, what do they know?

Safe to say that John McEnroe isn’t as convinced about Jack Draper working with a psychologist as his fellow commentators!

This has been a strong start from Draper, though, so they are splitting hairs in the commentary box as you can tell.

Draper is feasting on Baez’s serves, neutralising any impact they might have with a powerful return that the Argentine is unable to send back his way.

Almost as quickly as he held, the Britsh No1 puts his head down and gets the double-break. There’s no letting Baez in yet.

It’s still boiling in SW19 and Draper, not always one for climbing temperatures and humidity (cf. his US Open final versus Jannik Sinner) heads for the ice towel during the break.

Refreshed, he heads back onto court and fires an ace past his wide-stanced opponent. His next attempt flashes off Baez’s racquet and flies out to the crowd.

Draper is wasting no time on serve, zooming along to keep the match on his racquet. In just under two minutes, the game is his.

A second-serve ace gets Baez on the board, and the Argentine is off to the races, getting in the groove to force Draper to hit his returns long.

He wins the game to love, an incredible necessary confidence boost at this early stage.

After a cagey opening game, it takes much less energy for Draper to hold onto his serve against a tight-looking Baez.

The first round of applause goes up as Baez funks his backhand into the net to hand Draper his first point of the Championships.

While Draper looks to get ahead and seize the early break, some loose hitting sends a string of balls long, and sets the Argentine up for a steady hold…

But opening up his frame, Draper levels expansive forehands at Baez before hitting a final winner past him on the baseline to bring about deuce.

Although Baez threatens with the first advantage, a postage-stamp shot is fired off the Draper forehand which his opponent can only send into the net.

First time that I believe he walked into a Slam and thought “I could potentially win this”. No pressure at all.

It’s a huge weapon [his forehand]. This thing can become a real problem for his opponents. Maybe I’m most impressed with how he’s moving over the past year and that’s a big part of his rise to four in the world.

Here’s a stat for you, Jack Draper’s opponent tonight, Sebastian Baez, is one of only 12 players from a total of 128 that has yet to play a grasscourt match this season.

Bold preparation tactic, in fairness…

While Sebastian Baez is a fine player, there’s something unusual about the contrast between the heights of the two men. Draper stands at 6ft4, his Argentine opponent, 5ft7.

The pair have met twice before, with Draper getting the better of Baez on both occasions without dropping a set.

Baez also had a sticky grass-court record. On paper, Draper waltzes away with it. But if only events happened as expected…

Worth noting that Jack Draper has never been beyond the second round here at Wimbledon.

He lost to Cameron Norrie here in the second round last year but this 2025 event feels different after a massive 12 months.

Draper walks out onto court less so a prospect and more a genuine contender to win it all.

Pressure is a privilege, Jack…

The players are making their way out onto No 1 Court…

Recently Jack Draper received a Manchester United shirt from club legend Denis Irwin.

As a Manchester United fan this no doubt will be a memento that Draper will cherish.

But given how poorly his boyhood team fared last season… it’s perhaps best he paves his own way here at Wimbledon if he’s to have any hope of emulating Murray and winning the whole thing.

This is the first Wimbledon in two decades without Andy Murray playing and now the attention of British men is focused on Jack Draper.

But he is not so quick to forget the role Murray has played in his own rise…

He’s a huge inspiration for me. Watching him play Wimbledon and just the legacy he leaves behind, it’s massive.

I have obviously not had the chance to see him around loads. I have been looking back over old videos of him playing and I’m always very inspired by him.

I’m looking forward to seeing him. When I say watching Andy, I have drawn a lot of inspiration from watching him play.

I used to watch him on Sky Sports playing all the Grand Slams, obviously Wimbledon on the BBC, and just seeing the ups and downs of his matches and how he’s able to claw them back

He had competitive spirit and unbelievable craft on the court.

So whenever I watch him play, I’m reminded of the times I used to watch him and wanted to be a player myself. Watching him always inspires me the next day to want to improve even more.

That’s the mischievous opinion of Nick Kyrgios… who believes Emma Raducanu has Draper and Carlos Alcaraz fighting over her!

Petra Kvitova has been beaten by Emma Navarro and so Jack Draper will be next on court…

Imagine being a model AND one of the best sportspeople in your discipline in the world?

That is Jack Draper’s life.

Read more about having the best of both worlds right here…

It’s been a scorching hot day at Wimbledon but things are about to heat up even more with British No 1 Jack Draper due out on No 1 Court very, very soon.

Draper is last out on this court and the preceding match involving Petra Kvitova – involved in her final Wimbledon – and Emma Navarro is racing towards a conclusion.

Stay with me and my colleague Tamara Prenn here at SW19 for all the updates for Jack Draper’s first round match.