US Open: Jack Draper reaches maiden major quarterfinal

New York, Sep 3 (IANS) Briton Jack Draper reached his first quarterfinal at at Major, reaching the last-eight stage at the US Open with a straight sets victory over Czech Tomas Machac here on Monday. Draper won 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 becoming the first male player from his country after Andy Murray to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open.
The British lefty was in total control from the early stages at Louis Armstrong Stadium, where he played with high intensity and struck 35 winners. He became the first British man to advance to the last eight at the hard-court major since former champion Andy Murray in 2016.
The 22-year-old reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last season and has impressed once again this year, not dropping a set through his first four matches. Draper will continue his run against World No. 10 Alex de Minaur or Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.
Draper has climbed to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his first Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Machac. The 25th seed clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in Stuttgart earlier this year, defeating Matteo Berrettini in the final.
Against Machac in New York, Draper dominated throughout to earn a statement scoreline win. The 22-year-old constantly overpowered the World No. 39 in the baseline exchanges and was impressive on return, winning 60 percent (18/30) of points on Machac’s second delivery to seal an impressive victory.
Machac was competing in the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time, having moved past Fabio Fognini, Sebastian Korda, and David Goffin without dropping a set. The 23-year-old was unable to find his level against Draper and cut a frustrated figure at times on the court during the one-hour, 44-minute clash.
–IANS
bsk/