Jack Draper continued his excellent run in New York as he reached the fourth round of the US Open by easing past Botic van de Zandschulp, the conqueror of Carlos Alcaraz, with an extremely solid 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win.
It was an extremely professional performance from Draper, the 25th seed, who had to handle the pressure of being the heavy favourite after Van de Zandschulp’s shock win over Alcaraz on Thursday. Draper served well in the decisive moments and he dictated the baseline exchanges from the beginning, confidently attacking his forehand throughout.
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Two days after producing the biggest win of his career, Van de Zandschulp was simply unable to reproduce the high level he previously showed. After a shaky start, he found his range and put Draper under considerable pressure with his big forehand and all-court game but he crumbled after the men’s British No 1 established a two set lead. Towards the end of the match, the Dutchman struck five double faults in a row across two service games, drawing gasps from the Grandstand crowd.
“I think Botic played an incredible match against Carlos,” said Draper during his on-court interview. “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 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.”
By reaching the fourth round, Draper has equaled his best grand slam result, which he achieved last year in New York. This time, Draper is yet to drop a set at the US Open and he is clearly playing the best tennis of his career so far. After numerous first week upsets, Draper’s section has opened up and he will face the in-form Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic for a spot in the quarter-finals.
