This was a tough day for Alex de Minaur.
Into his third grand slam quarter-final in a row – but having skipped the previous one because of a hip injury – de Minaur’s US Open showdown with Brit Jack Draper seemed his best chance yet to reach the final four.
Australia’s Alex de Minaur went down to Jack Draper of Great Britain in straight sets.Credit: AP
But de Minaur, who boasted a 3-0 head-to-head record over Draper entering the career-defining match, warned after his win over fellow Australian Jordan Thompson that nothing is sure in tennis.
Instead, Draper blew the world No.10 away from the outset, with the 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 scoreline still not doing justice to how authoritative and dominant his performance was. He remains the sole player in the men’s draw yet to drop a set in the tournament.
“It’s amazing, honestly, to be out here; my first match on the biggest court in the world [Arthur Ashe Stadium], it’s a dream come true for me,” Draper said.
“I think I played a solid match. I feel the best, fitness-wise, I’ve been in a long time, and I think that’s where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a bit today with something, which may have helped me a little bit, but credit to Alex – he’s an amazing fighter and unbelievable player.”
Draper, 22, ended last year ranked 61 in the world but will surge inside the top 20 with his defeat of de Minaur, who will lose his top-10 ranking if Taylor Fritz wins his all-American semi-final with Frances Tiafoe.
De Minaur never looked himself in New York after seven weeks without a singles match, in the aftermath of the cartilage tear in his right hip that robbed him of a last-eight Wimbledon shot at Novak Djokovic at the apex of his breakout season.
