This is all starting to get serious. Jack Draper has reached the fourth round of the US Open without dropping a set and will face world number 39 Tomas Machac for a place in his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The British number one beat Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated Carlos Alcaraz, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, with another nerve-free display.
The 22-year-old is improving rapidly and the next stage of his evolution is to go deep at a major tournament. The fact that his breakthrough could come at the first Grand Slam since Andy Murray’s retirement seems too good to be true; too poetic a narrative.
But this is actually a great opportunity for Draper to reach the semi-finals here, where he is expected to face world number one Jannik Sinner, with whom he has struck up a close friendship.
Expected to be a free punch against Alcaraz, Draper entered the third round as the favorite but dealt with the pressure of that change of script excellently.
Jack Draper is into the fourth round of the US Open without dropping a set
Draper shined by beating Dutch player Botic van De Zandschulp (pictured) in straight sets
Draper now has a golden opportunity to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final after an impressive run in the United States.
Until his victory against Alcaraz, this had been a bad year for Van de Zandschulp and Draper gradually eroded the fragile confidence his opponent had gained with that historic victory.
“Botic played an incredible match against Carlos,” Draper said. “It’s not always easy to get on that big stage and then get through to the next round.
“I played a solid match today. It was a bit uneven, with some ups and downs, but in the end I managed to get through.”
As Draper suggested, the match was closer than the scoreline suggests. In the first two sets, Van de Zandschulp served well, as she did against Alcaraz, and the match was decided by who played the important points better.
Draper grabbed three of his eight break points and saved nine of 10 on his own serve. That lone break he conceded was the first time his lethal left-handed serve had been breached this fortnight. His 97 percent service game record is the best in the tournament.
Draper took a 2-0 lead in the first set, but faced a break point in each of her next three service games, eventually losing. It was a very close set, but Draper hit two of her best shots of the match — a rifle-like forehand and a deft drop shot — to decisively break serve and go up 5-3.
The second set was equally tight, but once Van de Zandschulp double-faulted and conceded a break at 3-3, Draper took control.
At 2-2, 30-30 in the fourth set, Van de Zandschulp committed consecutive double faults and Draper was not about to let such generosity go unpunished.
He committed more double faults (six in total in the third set) and Van de Zandschulp began to flex his right leg in discomfort. In the end he looked more like the man who was thinking about retiring after the French Open than the man who thrashed Alcaraz on Thursday night.
Draper converted three of his eight break points and saved nine of ten on his own serve.
So far, it’s been pretty easy for Draper in New York as he aims to make history.
So far, it has all been pretty easy for Draper in New York. Zhizhen Zhang retired with a leg injury in his first-round match, he was too good for fellow left-hander Facundo Diaz Acosta and Van de Zandschulp lost ground.
Has it been too easy? Draper has played as well as he has had to so far and will set the bar higher tomorrow against Machac.
The Czech, who reached his first Grand Slam fourth round with a straight-sets win over 33-year-old Belgian David Goffin yesterday, has a forehand at least as strong as Draper’s and is yet to drop a set.
Draper will now face Czech ace Tomas Machac in the next round of the US Open.
But Grand Slam fourth-round matches against unseeded players don’t come around very often and this is a big opportunity for Draper.
And he richly deserves it, after 2023 (and, really, much of his early career) was severely hampered by injury. Draper has bolstered his massive frame through hours of hard work and is reaping the rewards.
“Last year I had a difficult year due to injuries,” he said. “This year I have been able to be on the court to compete all the time on the circuit against the best players in the world. That is what I have put all my effort into: to play on the most important stages in the world. I am very happy and grateful for all the wonderful people around me and we continue to want more.”
Dan Evans took on No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur last night, looking to join Draper in the fourth round and make it a Super Saturday for British tennis.