Jack Draper has hailed a “dream come true” after reaching the US Open semi-finals with another impressive straight-sets win over Alex De Minaur in New York.
The British men’s No1 showed no signs of nerves whatsoever in his first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final match on Wednesday, brushing aside the Australian 10th seed - who struggled with injury throughout - 6-3 7-5 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Draper had never previously been beyond the second round at a major tournament, eliminated at that stage at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open this year as well as losing his opener at Roland Garros, and will meet either reigning world No1 Jannik Sinner or former Flushing Meadows champion Daniil Medvedev on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.
The 22-year-old from Surrey, the lowest-ranked player left in the tournament at a career-high No25 in the latest ATP rankings, is the first British men’s player to reach the semi-finals at the US Open since 2012, when Andy Murray won the first of his three Grand Slam titles.
His fairytale run in New York - in which he has still yet to drop a single set following similarly emphatic wins over Tomas Machac, Carlos Alcaraz’s conqueror Botic van de Zandschulp and Facundo Diaz Acosta, plus an eventual walkover against Zhang Zhizhen when just two games away from victory - has drawn plenty of comparisons with that of compatriot Emma Raducanu, who stunned the sporting world by winning the women’s US Open as a teenager and unseeded qualifier in 2021, ending Britain’s 44-year wait for a female Grand Slam champion.
De Minaur - the boyfriend of current British women’s No1 Katie Boulter - was the first seeded player Draper faced at this year’s US Open and had been expected to pose a tough test after winning all of their previous three meetings, including at Wimbledon in 2022.
However, he ultimately proved no match for the soaring Draper, who had been just the fifth British man ever to reach the US Open quarter-finals in the Open era after John Lloyd, Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and Murray.
"It's amazing, honestly. To be out here in my first match on the biggest court in the world, honestly it's a dream come true for me. Thank you for all the support, it means the world,” Draper said.
"I think I played a solid match and I feel the best fitness-wise that I've been in a long time.
"I think that's where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a little bit today with something and that may have helped me a little bit.
"But credit to Alex, he's an unbelievable player and fighter, and we're going to have many more battles to come."
Sinner and 2021 men’s champion Medvedev go head to head later on Wednesday, with one semi-final tie already teed up as American duo Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz clash at their home Grand Slam after respective surprise wins over higher seeds in Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev.
Elsewhere at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday, women’s world No1 and 2022 champion Iga Swiatek battles American sixth seed Jessica Pegula for a place in the last four against Karolina Muchova, who beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1 6-4 to reach a second successive US Open semi-final despite a bout of illness that affected her throughout the match.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up to Coco Gauff, will face Emma Navarro in the other women’s semi-final after easing past China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets, 6-1 6-2.
