Britain’s Jack Draper served his way to the Last 16 of the US Open for the second year in a row with a clinical all-court performance, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 against Botic Van De Zandschulp in just two hours and 15 minutes, and next faces Tomas Mahac for a place in the quarter finals.
The Dutchman simply could not reproduce the form that sensationally took out world number three Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round. Double faults at the wrong time and a high count of 23 unforced errors did not help his cause with his forehand becoming particularly erratic.
“First of all, I think Botic played an incredible match against Carlos Alcaraz,” said Draper on court afterwards. “It’s not always easy to go on that big stage and play such a player like Carlos and then come out the next round and feel really good because it’s just so tiring being put in that situation so credit to him. I thought I played a solid match today. It was a little bit scrappy, a little bit up and down but I got through in the end.”
In a mature and professional display, Draper served brilliantly with 13 aces and converted five of eight breakpoints. He raised his first serve percentage from 41% to 77% by the end of the match and dictated with his monster forehand throughout – as well as saving a massive nine of ten breakpoints, most of which came in the first set.
Draper raced to a 3-0 lead at the start of the match before being pegged back, but came through some testing moments to take the first set which was tighter than the score suggested. Games went with serve in the second until 3-3 where Van De Zandschulp’s serve deserted him and Draper took advantage. By this point the young Brit was slowly wearing down his opponent’s mental resolve.
Things went from bad to worse in the third set for the Dutchman, as the unforced error count mounted as well as the double faults. At two games all at 30-30, not only did he throw in two double faults to gift the game away, but inexplicably at 2-4 down he fell to 0-40 with three more, followed by yet another forehand error.
In the final game Draper recovered from a breakpoint down with a service winner, followed by a beautiful serve and volley point, before taking the match with a forehand winner. He is becoming an increasingly popular figure with both his fellow players and fans, and stayed to sign many tennis balls and autographs well after his on-court interview had concluded.
Having had a mixed season in 2023, this year he has not only climbed to his highest ranking but also won his first ATP tour title in Stuttgart, as well as beating Alcaraz at Queens. There’s now no doubt of the cumulative confidence gained through that process.
“Last year, I had a tough year with injuries,” Draper explained. “This year, I’ve been able to stay on court to compete all the time on the tour against the best players in the world. This is why I put all the hard work in, to play in front of you guys on the biggest stages in the world so I’m really, really happy and grateful for all the great people around me and we keep wanting more.
Draper should surely feel confident as he enters the second week of the last Grand Slam of the year, having won three matches in straight sets and only dropping serve once. When asked about why he was playing so well, he replied:
“I think it’s the conditions and the courts. I love the courts here. They’re sort of fast but they’re also slow at the same time and just the energy I get from the crowd and people supporting me. This is what the players work so hard for, to come out here and to play in front of you guys so it’s really special to get the support every time I play.”
In the next round he faces Mahac, who beat David Goffin in straight sets to become the first Czech to reach the last 16 since Tomas Berdych since 2015.
