Jack Draper came of age on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the first British male to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray broke his grand-slam duck here in 2012.
The 22-year-old Draper has felt like a well-kept tennis secret for the past couple of years, even though his peers have repeatedly tipped him as a serious contender.
Now the secret is out in the open, after Draper ousted 10th seed Alex de Minaur by a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 scoreline, so maintaining his perfect record of not having dropped a set at this tournament.
It was another thunderous performance from Draper, who has raised his level with each successive round. At the same time, though, there were reasons to feel anxious about his physical condition. He needed a visit from the trainer, who strapped up his right thigh early in the second set.
It was a curious match in the sense that both men looked to be battling their bodies at different stages. De Minaur has been carrying a hip-cartilage problem since Wimbledon, and as he said earlier in the event, “Sometimes I wake up feeling better, some days I wake up a little bit worse.”
This appeared to be one of the worse days, as De Minaur barely hit any serves in his pre-match warm-up, and looked to be struggling to get up to his ball-toss during the match. His first-serve percentage has been low throughout this tournament, and today he only made 52 per cent – too low a figure to stop Draper from breaking him a mighty six times in the match.
The early stages found De Minaur gifting easy mistakes as he lost eight of the first nine points, including four unforced errors. He lifted from there but never quite settled into the relentless rhythm that had seen off the other British hope Dan Evans in the third round.
Draper, however, played his part in making De Minaur feel uncomfortable. He served 11 aces, bending the ball like a banana out to De Minaur’s backhand, and hit his forehand like a kicking horse.
It’s interesting to note that, after five rounds, not a single one of Draper’s opponents has come away with a positive ratio of winners to unforced errors – which is the easiest way to measure performance levels numerically.
Draper has had a generous dollop of luck, what with De Minaur feeling his hip, and his first-round opponent Zhang Zhizhen retiring with a knee injury. There was also a Carlos Alcaraz-shaped hole in the third-round, after the reigning Wimbledon champion suffered a career-worst defeat to unheralded Dutchman Botic van der Zandschulp.
But there can be no doubt that Draper has discombobulated his opponents. Even if his first-serve percentage his been no better than moderate across the event, at 54 per cent, he has come up with big serves whenever he has needed them, saving 25 of 28 break points overall. That takes him near to 90 per cent, whereas the second-best figure in the tournament is Ben Shelton’s 79.
And then there is Draper’s shot selection during rally play. He has picked his moments to perfection, keeping enough length and depth to keep the other guy honest, while mixing in huge haymaking winners just often enough to frighten them. The combination has left people unsure whether to stick or twist, with the result that they have ended up spraying errors. De Minaur came away with 30 of them, which made this comfortably his worst performance of the event.
Draper took nothing for granted. He had new rackets delivered early in the third set as if he was expecting to be there for five hours rather than the actual match duration of two hours and seven minutes.
His coach James Trotman also played an excellent supporting role, constantly chivvying away at him to take the initiative and go hard at De Minaur. In the worrying moments late in the second set, when Draper appeared to be feeling that thigh issue, the microphones picked up Trotman saying “What a great challenge this is. I back your ball-strike against his, mate.”
There was certainly an extra margin to Draper’s shots, especially on the forehand side, where he imparts an almost Nadal-esque payload of top- and side-spin. It takes a lot of physical effort to generate that sort of torque, and the fact that he was able to maintain that throughout the match will raise hopes that the thigh is not too serious an issue.
Draper didn’t sound too bothered about his body during his on-court interview with Brad Gilbert, the former American pro who coached Coco Gauff to last year’s US Open title.
“It’s amazing,” said Draper. “Honestly, to be out here for my first match on the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true for me. It means the world.
“I think I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I’ve been in a long, long time and I think that’s where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a bit today with something which may have helped me a little bit. But credit to Alex: he’s an amazing fighter and an unbelievable player and we’re going to have many more battles to come.”
While Murray may be the last British man to reach the US Open semi-finals, there was of course a British woman who won the tournament in 2021. And there is an unmistakeable echo of Raducanu’s feat in the way Draper has cruised through this draw so quietly and clinically, like a shark chasing down his prey.
Three years ago, it was Raducanu who lifted the title without dropping a set. But she never faced a top-ten opponent, as her detractors are always quick to point out. With this win over world No10 De Minaur, Draper has announced his own arrival to the big-time.
10:03 PM BST
Tim Henman reacts
I think he can be so proud of so many different aspects. He played great tennis. He obviously had his challenges physically. It’ll be interesting to hear how that leg is feeling.
But also mentally – there were a lot of opportunities to get distracted out there. He came out. Stamped his authority on the first set and looked comfortable and then in the second set he had a lot of opportunities.
But De Minaur’s never going to go away. He’s a great competitor and he hung in and suddenly [Draper] has to serve to stay in the second set at 4-5, he played a couple of great games to hold serve, to break serve and then to finish it off. Then at two sets to love he was in such a strong position.
09:57 PM BST
Who will Draper play next?
The Briton awaits the winner of Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev which will be played overnight.
Will Draper be watching?
I’m a big sports fan and a big tennis fan so I’ll definitely be watching the match tonight if it doesn’t go too late.
I’ll enjoy the win and relax.
09:35 PM BST
Social media reaction
Sometimes it just starts to come together.
Jack Draper looks one hell of a player
— Jason (@ryantegan) September 4, 2024
Jack Draper that was fantastic. Always great seeing a Brit get far in a major. Let’s hope Medvedev and Sinner go the distance tonight after seeing Draper get it done in 3.
— Oli Barnard (@OliverBarnard28) September 4, 2024
Jack draper doing bits out in the US. Gotta go make the final now. He’s got the momentum to go and win this off the back of that!
— Clark ⚽️🥊🏌️♂️🎦 (@WaffleSports) September 4, 2024
09:26 PM BST
Draper reacts
It’s amazing. Honestly to be out here my first match on the biggest court in the world it’s a dream come true for me. It means the world.
I think I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I’ve been in a long, long time and I think that’s where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a bit today with something which may have helped me a little bit.
But credit to Alex he’s an amazing fighter and an unbelievable player and we’re going to have many more battles to come.
09:20 PM BST
It’s coming home?
15 sets played. 15 sets on. Draper is the first man to reach the US Open semis without dropping a set since Medvedev in 2020.
He will enter the top 20 as a result of his performances in New York.
09:17 PM BST
WATCH: How Draper reached the US Open semi-finals
09:13 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 De Minaur*
Here we go then. Serving for a place in the semi-final, Draper starts with an ace. POINT OF THE MATCH. Draper desperately stays in the rally, De Minaur can’t finish him off and Draper beats him with a forehand winner.
Oh my word. Draper cross court forehand winner on the run. Three match points. Draper backhand winner.
GAME SET MATCH DRAPER!
09:09 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 7-5, 5-2 De Minaur
Is this it for De Minaur? A double fault makes it 0-30. Big forehand down the line and De Minaur’s defensive backhand goes long, 0-40.
De Minaur saves the first with a forehand winner. Two more to go. De Minaur forehand into the net and Draper breaks and will serve for the match.
09:06 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 7-5, 4-2 De Minaur*
Back comes De Minaur as he rushes Draper into an error, 15-30. Draper double faults, two break points for De Minaur.
Swinging ace from Draper saves the first. Then the second when De Minaur leaves the ball short, Draper attacks it and finishes with an overhead smash winner. Deuce.
De Minaur backhand long and Draper ticks off another service game. He’s two games away now.
09:00 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 7-5, 3-2 De Minaur
De Minaur forehand long, 0-30. Is this the moment for Draper? De Minaur goes wide with a backhand down the line. Three break points. Draper has to take this chance.
Draper forehand long on the first. WOW. Draper runs around his backhand and blasts a forehand winner down the line to break.
Breathtaking away to break.
08:57 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 De Minaur*
Efficiency is the name of the game for Draper as he moves smoothly to 30-0. Wow. Outrageous speed by De Minaur to reach a Draper backhand volley and flick a forehand down the line, 30-30. He had no right to win that point.
Draper backhand down the line at the highest part of the net and De Minaur nets. Draper with another gutsy hold.
08:52 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 7-5, 1-2 De Minaur
De Minaur has never fought back from two sets down to win a match. So far in this set he’s doing what he has to do and hold to 15.
08:51 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 7-5, 1-1 De Minaur*
Draper looking imperious on his serve again as he holds to 15. De Minaur hasn’t been able to trouble him enough on serve which is a credit to how well the Briton has played.
08:47 PM BST
Third Set: Draper* 6-3, 7-5, 0-1 De Minaur (*denotes next server)
Must win set for De Minaur, who will need to go the distance if he wants to win this match. He starts off well with a love hold.
But it is an uphill task from there.
08:45 PM BST
‘Both players showing physical limitations’
A confusing set in many ways with both players showing physical limitations at different times. Some terrific points. Some cheap misses. Strong supporting credit to Draper’s coach James Trotman who does seem to have the knack of saying the right thing at the right time.
08:42 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 7-5 De Minaur*
Draper calmly moves to 30-0 and earns three set points with a lovely swinging first serve down the T.
Forehand into the net on the first set point by Draper. Then another. Very tight looking shot that. He needs to finish this off right here.
And he does! Big wide serve, high return by De Minaur and Draper finishes the set with a drive backhand winner.
Draper is a set away from the semi-finals.
08:38 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 6-5 De Minaur
Better drop shot by Draper and De Minaur is nowhere near it, 0-15. De Minaur nets a backhand and that’s six points in a row at a crucial time.
De Minaur stops the streak with an unreturned first serve, 15-30. De Minaur then nets a backhand to give Draper two break points.
Forehand wide by Draper on the first. You can hear Draper grunting and the effort he’s putting into this and he gets his reward when De Minaur nets a forehand.
Draper to serve for a two-set lead next.
08:33 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 5-5 De Minaur*
We hear on the microphone Draper’s coach James Trotman tell his player to keep the points short. And the British No 1 delivers on the instruction with a service hold to love.
08:30 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 4-5 De Minaur
Concerns beginning to grow about Draper physically. He is not chasing as many balls as he did before. Sensible body management but not ideal.
De Minaur claims his third game in a row as he holds to 30 and makes Draper serve to stay in the set.
08:27 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 4-4 De Minaur*
Draper tries another drop shot but gets it all wrong and nets, 0-30. Draper mis-hits a forehand into the tramlines and De Minaur has three break points.
Draper saves the first with a backhand cross court winner. He needs a couple more of those. Wild Draper forehand flies long and De Minaur.
It wasn’t long ago that De Minaur was 4-2 and 0-40 down on his serve…
08:21 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 4-3 De Minaur
Great backhand approach by Draper and De Minaur nets a backhand to find himself 0-30 down again. Weak return by Draper and De Minaur nets a mid-court forehand. Three break points for Draper.
De Minaur saves the first. Then the second with a backhand volley winner. And the third with Draper nets a defensive backhand. Three first serves from De Minaur giving little opportunity for Draper there.
Crunching 98mph Draper forehand catches the baseline and beats De Minuar. Fourth break point. Saved again by De Minaur with an ace.
De Minaur backhand long gives Draper a fifth chance to break. Draper sets the point up well, gets the short forehand but miscues his forehand high and wide. Relief for De Minaur.
Draper forehand error and De Minaur survives.
08:13 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 4-2 De Minaur*
No sign of any hip issue for De Minaur as he sprints to his right and whips a backhand down the line for a winner. It looks like Draper wants to test De Minaur’s movement by dragging him to the net with drop shot.
A backhand into the net by Draper and De Minaur has a break point. Stunning from Draper. De Minaur comes forward, hits a volley but Draper picks him off at the net with a forehand winner.
Unreturned first serve by Draper and he holds.
08:05 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 3-2 De Minaur
Forehand into the net by De Minaur, 30-all. He bounces up and down after it, in an attempt to get loose. Great counter punching by Draper, he then attacks the net and De Minaur goes long with a forehand, break point.
Soft De Minaur second serve, 76mph, but Draper fails to make his opponent play, pushing his forehand return long, deuce.
De Minaur ace to hold. Good recovery that.
08:01 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 3-1 De Minaur*
Draper is having his right thigh strapped up and has taken a medical time out. Laura Robson doesn’t think it is too much of a concern. I wish I had her confidence. Any time a physio comes out is never good!
But at the other end of the court, De Minaur’s movement definitely looks restricted. Back-to-back errors help Draper to 40-0 and he consolidates the break with a forehand winner down the line.
Very impressive game.
07:57 PM BST
Draper* 6-3, 2-1 De Minaur
The tournament physio and doctor are standing in the corner and waiting to come out. Looks like De Minaur is feeling his hip.
The Australian nets a forehand, break point Draper. De Minaur forehand long and Draper breaks.
But the physio is actually out for Draper!
07:53 PM BST
Draper 6-3, 1-1 De Minaur*
Much more routine service game for Draper as he holds to 15 with an ace. But I get the sense De Minaur has finally started to settle and that makes him dangerous.
07:51 PM BST
Second Set: Draper* 6-3, 0-1 De Minaur
Slight worry and something to watch out for – Draper stretched out his groin after winning the set. Hopefully it isn’t serious.
De Minaur opens the second set with a service hold to 30 after a couple of error from Draper.
07:46 PM BST
‘De Minaur didn’t really get going there’
De Minaur didn’t really get going there until he was up against break points at 5-2 down. His pre-match warm-up included unusually few serves, which has fuelled speculation that he is feeling his hip problem – a cartilage issue he picked up during Wimbledon – more acutely than he has at other times during this tournament.
It was a poor start, in which he lost eight of the first nine points including four unforced errors. In the last two games of the set, he began to play better, finding that rhythmic line and length that is his trademark. But Draper was too far ahead.
07:45 PM BST
Draper 6-3 De Minaur*
Draper forehand into the net, 0-15. He responds with a timely ace, 15-15. Draper goes for a big forehand down the line after a 20 shot rally but misses, 15-30.
Relief for Draper as De Minaur pushes a backhand long, 30-30. Big point coming up now…
Brave change up from Draper to serve and volley, it catches De Minaur by surprise and his return is wide, set point.
Serve and volley again by Draper but De Minaur’s dipping return is good and Draper’s half volley is wide, deuce. Draper double faults, break point De Minaur.
Timely first serve by Draper to rescue the situation. De Minaur buries a forehand into the net, set point.
Draper forehand winner to take the set. One set down, two to go!
07:38 PM BST
Draper* 5-3 De Minaur
For the fourth time in a row, De Minaur finds himself down 0-30 on his serve. Deep Draper return to the De Minaur baseline and the Australian nets. Three set points.
De Minaur saves the first with an inside out forehand. Two more to go. He saves the second with an ace down the T. Third time lucky for Draper? No. De Minaur first serve down the T and Draper’s return is long.
Another Draper return rushes De Minaur into an error, set point. De Minaur comes up big again with a cross-court backhand winner.
Draper forehand into the net and De Minaur survives to extend the set. But for how much longer? Pressure shifts to Draper now to win the set.
07:31 PM BST
Draper 5-2 De Minaur*
Draper putting on a serving clinic as he paints the lines with his serves. A swinging wide serve beats De Minaur for an ace and Draper moves to within a game of the set.
07:27 PM BST
Draper* 4-2 De Minaur
De Minuar under the cosh on his serve again as a ninth unforced error makes it 0-30. De Minaur gets level at 30-all and leads when Draper’s forehand is just long.
Another Draper and De Minaur holds for the first time. That should settle any nerves.
07:22 PM BST
Draper 4-1 De Minaur*
Key for Draper is his first serve. So important for him to get cheap and quick points. Three unreturned first serves take him to 40-0 and he holds with a blistering forehand winner. De Minaur never saw it as the ball flew past him.
07:20 PM BST
Draper* 3-1 De Minaur
Back comes Draper. An overhead winner makes it 0-30. Then a wild forehand by De Minaur flies wide to give Draper two break points.
De Minaur saves the first with an ace. But he goes wide again with a forehand and Draper breaks again. De Minaur looking far from comfortable as Draper rushes him.
07:16 PM BST
Draper 2-1 De Minaur*
It is never a break of serve unless you consolidate the break and Draper finds himself in trouble after a double fault, 15-30.
He responds with an unreturned first serve but another double fault means De Minaur has a break point.
Deep De Minaur return rushes Draper, who nets a backhand. The Australian breaks back and we are back on serve.
07:12 PM BST
Draper* 2-0 De Minaur
De Minaur gets his first point of the match when Draper nets a backhand, 15-30. Brilliant rally. 23 shots. Draper forehand approach, De Minaur hits a dipping backhand pass which Draper meets with a backhand volley. De Minuar gets to it but Draper has time to flick a backhand winner cross court.
Two break points. And at the first time of asking, Draper breaks when De Minaur puts a backhand into the tramlines.
Great start!
07:07 PM BST
First Set: Jack Draper 1-0 Alex de Minaur* (*denotes next server)
Nerves for Draper? Absolutely not. He has come out firing, hitting aces, striking the ball cleanly, looking composed and settling himself with a service hold to love.
06:57 PM BST
Here we go!
Draper walks out onto Arthur Ashe for the first time in his career. He is taking it all in, waving to the crowd enthusiastically.
De Minaur follows him out, head down, no acknowledgment to the spectators. Game face on!
06:54 PM BST
The three Draper shots bamboozling the US Open
After Jack Draper had surged through to the US Open quarter-finals with another crushing win, one might have expected him to swagger his way into the interview room with a broad grin.
Yet Draper’s primary emotion was bemusement. “I’m finding it strange,” he said. “In some of the matches I kind of lose concentration because I feel like it is going quickly, and it is going my way.”
After four matches in which he has dropped serve only once, and never been taken to so much as a tie-break, Draper is struggling to work out why his opponents keep self-destructing.
We could put this down to sheer luck. After all, he has yet to play a seed, and was spared the challenge of facing Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the third round after unheralded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp sprang the biggest grand-slam surprise in years.
But there is something else going on here. You could see it clearly in Monday’s 102-minute win over Tomas Machac; Draper is sowing confusion with his unconventional game-style. His four opponents have looked as baffled as newspaper readers who thought they had picked up the quick crossword, only to discover they were doing the cryptic one instead.
Click here to learn about the Draper shots that are causing his New York opponents particular problems.
06:51 PM BST
Boost for Draper?
Reports coming in that De Minaur practised for just 15 minutes earlier. He didn’t look happy apparently and struggled on his serve. He pulled out of a Wimbledon quarter-final with Djokovic due to a hip injury and missed the Olympics with the same problem.
Has the injury flared up at the worst possible time for the Australian? We shall see. Players due out on court very soon.
06:45 PM BST
While Draper gets ready for his match, Andy Murray has been trying a new sport
06:40 PM BST
GAME SET MATCH MUCHOVA
Muchova completes a 6-1, 6-4 victory of Haddad Maia. The second set was a battle of atrrition but the Czech makes it back-to-back semi-finals at the US Open.
It was a battle physically for both players but Muchova gets the job done and awaits the winner of Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
06:35 PM BST
Drama in the women’s quarter-finals
Before Draper vs De Minaur begins, there is a last-eight battle between Karolina Muchova and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Muchova has left the court three times for an unknown ailment and after she held serve to lead 5-3 in the score Haddad Maia became very emotional and appeared to complain of breathing issues.
06:28 PM BST
D-Day for Draper
06:17 PM BST
Draper eyes US Open semi-finals
Hello and welcome to coverage from the US Open as Jack Draper bids to continue his fairytale run.
The British No 1 has eased into the quarter-finals without dropping a set and serving impeccably.
Tonight he faces Australian Alex de Minaur for a place in the last four and a potential meeting with world No 1 Jannik Sinner. Draper became the first British man to reach the last eight since Andy Murray in 2016 and his performances have drawn similarities with Emma Raducanu, who claimed the US Open title in 2021.
“I think I’ve just got to keep on going because I know that there’s still room for improvement and still room to hopefully go further in the tournament,” he said.
“I feel like in most of the matches I’ve just had to control what I can control. I feel like my base level is good, but I still feel like if I need to, I can improve my level a lot more.
“I feel like there’s still a long way for me to go and a lot that I can still improve on in this tournament, and I think obviously as the challenge gets higher and as I play even better players, I think hopefully my level will increase with that.
“I think that’s the main thing about tennis. You know, we can’t play our best tennis all the time. It’s about how we’re coming through on the days when we’re not playing our best or when things aren’t perfect or when we’re not feeling great.”
De Minaur, whose girlfriend is British number one Katie Boulter, has won all three previous meetings against Draper but is taking nothing for granted.
“I think the biggest thing that we need to understand is that there is nothing sure in tennis, right? Doesn’t matter how many times you’ve played someone. It doesn’t mean much,” he said.
“So playing Jack, he’s coming off his best year by far. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s got some very big weapons; his serve, backhand, and forehand at times. So it’s always tough facing someone like him, especially a lefty.”
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