Jack Draper has reached the second week of a grand slam for the first time after beating American Michael Mmoh in the third round of the US Open.
The British No 4 silenced the home crowd with a gritty display in a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
The Grandstand court at Flushing Meadows is an intimidating place for an overseas player taking on an American, but Draper had almost emptied it when he went 2-0 ahead.
Mmoh, ranked 89 in the world, hit back in the third, but Draper dug deep to break for 4-2 in the fourth before clinching a huge win.
Grandstand is also the court which Draper hurt his hamstring a year ago in his third-round match against Karen Khachanov, forcing him to retire.
The 21-year-old has been beset by injuries ever since and was a doubt to even play in New York due to a tear in his shoulder. Yet Draper, serving with less vim than usual in a bid to manage the problem, still thumped 52 winners to surge into the last 16.
He said: “I was thinking that on the court today it’s like Groundhog Day out there. I think it was exactly one year on.
“Last year I was playing Khachanov, and I felt like when I was playing him I was so tired. I was sort of carrying a bit of an injury. I’m so proud of the work that I’ve put in the last year. Even though I haven’t been able to compete too much, I generally think I’m a much better player and better all-around athlete, as well.
“To come here a year on, despite maybe my ranking having dropped a fair bit because of the injuries and not being able to be on the same confidence level that I was last year, you know, I’m incredibly proud of that and hopefully I can keep going this week.”
Jack Draper fought his way into round four— (AP)
But Draper is now the last Brit standing in the singles after Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Katie Boulter all crashed out.
Evans pushed world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz all the way before bowing out following a breathtaking third-round match. The defending champion had to dip into his armoury of explosive winners to finally see off the British No 2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The last time Evans played the top-ranked player he rose to the occasion, beating Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo three years ago, and the 26th seed brought the very best out of the 20-year-old Wimbledon champion before succumbing 6-2 6-3 4-6 6-3.
“It’s still tough, a very frustrating afternoon but my tennis is in a good spot and that’s important” said Evans.
British men’s No 1 Norrie suffered a much more frustrating loss as he tumbled out after a straight-sets defeat to Matteo Arnaldi. An out-of-sorts Norrie, the 16th seed, was beaten 6-3 6-4 6-3 by the Italian world number 61.
“I actually think I started well,” he said. “I was hitting the ball really well all week but I didn’t have the shot tolerance to hang with him. He was really crafty and won a lot of tough points so credit to him.”
Katie Boulter’s run came to an end— (AP)
Meanwhile, British women’s No 1 Boulter’s run at the US Open was ended in the third round by Peyton Stearns. The 27-year-old from Leicester picked up two fine wins in her opening two matches, but American world No 59 Stearns proved too strong on a breezy Court 17.
Boulter was gunning for revenge having lost to Stearns across three tie-breaks and three-and-half hours in Texas in February but this was never as close a match despite the Brit clawing back an early break in the first set as she fell 6-4, 6-3. Her previous two wins earlier this week will at least she her earn a place in the world’s top 50 for the first time in her career, however.
She said: “I wouldn’t say it was my best tennis. I think it was very competitive. I felt like I could have done a lot of things better but ultimately I gave everything I had on the day and unfortunately, that is tennis. I have to learn from it and I have to get those things better. But credit to her, her forehand is one of the best on the women’s side.”
