Jack Draper is enjoying his best-ever run at a Grand Slam event, having soared into the quarter-finals of the US Open yesterday.
Facing Tomas Machac, the 23-year-old was expected to pose the Great British star a real problem, having failed to lose a set all tournament, and also boasting an unbeaten record against his adversary.
However, he simply failed to show up on the day, whilst Jack Draper excelled.
The 22-year-old has deservedly drawn post-match praise, for doing one thing that left his opponent particularly stunned.
Martina Navratilova rates Jack Draper’s US Open performance
Speaking immediately after his emphatic fourth-round victory, Martina Navratilova was the first to comb over a really solid performance whilst speaking on Sky Sports.
However, her praise for the British number one did come at the expense of Machac, who she admitted to being disappointed with.
She claimed: ‘I think Machac was surprised by how well Draper was hitting from the baseline. He maybe expected him to come in more and beat him with the serve but Draper beat him with everything and stood up to him on the baseline. He wasn’t at the net that many times. He moved really well and hit the ball hard off both wings.’
Tim Henman then chimed in: ‘At every critical moment in the match, Draper gets the early break and has to back it up with his own serve, he did that. He’s up a break early and you want to keep that intensity and every decisive moment it was Draper coming out on top. He just got better and better as the match went on.’
Jack Draper thanked Andy Murray after the match, as he seeks to follow in his historic US Open footsteps.
US Open preview: Jack Draper vs Alex De Minaur
Having now reached the quarter-finals, bettering his previous best-ever run to the Wimbledon fourth round earlier this year, it’s been a mesmeric year for Draper.
And, he now has the chance to reach the semi-finals, with just Alex De Minaur the man standing in his way.
These two have faced each other three times on the ATP circuit, with the Australian coming out on top every time, but those matches were far from easy.
Draper has snagged a set of him in each of those meetings, with this year’s showdown in Acapulco sadly ending with the British star retiring.
He should have the game to trouble De Minaur, with his big-serving style sure to unsettle the relentless 25-year-old.
However, he will have to play his best tennis to overcome the world number ten, who clearly has his number thus far.
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