Jack Draper is into his first Grand Slam semi-final after the British number one defeated Alex De Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2.
The 25th seed produced an outstanding performance as he dominated a wounded De Minaur to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Despite having hamstring issues of his own, Draper kept his cool to become the first male Brit since Andy Murray in 2012 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
On Friday either world number one Jannik Sinner or former champion Daniil Medvedev awaits.
Draper entered the match having trailed De Minaur 3-0 on the head-to-head record but showed no signs of that early on as the forehand dominated proceedings as he broke for a 2-1 lead.
De Minaur was clearly hampered physically but took advantage of Draper’s nerves to break back as he looked to extend the rallies.
However there was very little for De Minaur to celebrate throughout the contest as Draper immediately broke back with more unforced errors being produces from the Australian.
Although De Minaur gradually gained confidence, Draper continued to cruise through on serve and eventually threatened the double break in the eighth game.
Four set points were saved from De Minaur and the Australian created a break point of his own as Draper looked to serve out the opening set.
Clutch serving and a forehand cross-court winner came to the rescue as Draper clinched the opening set 6-3.
In the early stages of the second set both players suffered physical limitations as Draper had a medical time-out on a hamstring injury.
Being bandaged up didn’t stop Draper from dominating the match as he took an early break lead but would face a wave of De Minaur pressure late on in the set.
After failing to convert break points in the sixth game, De Minaur eventually took his opportunity in the eighth game as his patience was rewarded as Draper became passive.
The De Minaur confidence was starting to become significant until it was insignificant as Draper shut down the momentum with a quick hold for 5-5 before breaking in the eleventh game.
More unforced errors cost De Minaur as Draper closed out a two set lead as the Australian had a mountain to climb.
In the third set De Minaur got off to an efficient start on serve as he needed to conserve as much energy as possible if he was to pull of that comeback.
A comeback never materialized though as more unforced errors followed from De Minaur as the British number one won five games in a row to seal a place in a first Grand Slam semi-final.
It means that Draper still hasn’t lost a set in this tournament and will now play Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final.
