Britain’s Jack Draper matched his best Grand Slam performance with an efficient win over Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
The British number one’s side of the draw in New York had been blown open by Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat by Dutchman Van de Zandschulp in the previous round and Draper made the most of the initial opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory.
In muggy conditions at Flushing Meadows, where Draper repeatedly used ice packs on his neck and blasted himself with an air conditioning unit at changeovers, the Briton was cool and clinical against a weary-looking and error-prone opponent.
“I thought I played a solid match today,” Draper said. “It was a little bit scrappy, a little bit up and down, but I got through in the end.”
Draper, the 25th seed who has yet to drop a set here, will face Czech world number 39 Tomas Machac for a place in the quarter-finals.
Fellow Briton Dan Evans will seek to join Draper in the last 16 later on day six of the final Grand Slam tournament of the year when he takes on Australian 10th seed Alex de Minaur (00:00 BST Sunday).
Draper takes chances in wide open draw
Draper had come into the match without dropping serve at the tournament so far and he raced into an early 4-1 lead before being pegged back when he was broken for the first time in the seventh game.
But he immediately broke back to love and served the set out, albeit in faltering fashion when he needed a fifth set point to finally seal it.
Left-hander Draper got the key break in the seventh game of the second set and this time clinched the set more emphatically with an ace.
A double-fault at the start of the third summed up the day for world number 74 Van de Zandschulp, who just could not find the same level of consistency he had displayed in his brilliant victory over four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.
Draper had said before this match that he would be trying to be “more aggressive in certain moments” following a series of narrow defeats earlier this year, but he never really needed to be against an opponent who racked up 38 unforced errors and looked to be struggling physically towards the end.
Draper feels ‘very different’ to last year’s injury-hit season
A fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam is an opportunity that Draper is relishing after a “tough year” with injuries in 2023 that left him considering his future in the sport.
Draper made an impressive run to the last 16 in New York last year, but he said that he had been still “really struggling” with a shoulder injury he had sustained on his French Open debut a few months earlier.
The same issue caused Draper to miss that year’s entire grass-court season, including his home Slam at Wimbledon.
The 22-year year-old credits a return to his old fitness trainer, Steven Kotze, as the reason behind his clean bill of health in 2024.
“I feel very different now,” Draper added.
“I’m not waking up every day worried about playing five sets. I have so much more confidence in my mind and my body through experiences of playing on the tour now this year consistently.”
The Briton, who is at a career-high ranking of 25 and won his first ATP title in June in Stuttgart, now has a chance to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in a draw that is shorn of 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic as well as Alcaraz.
