{"id":291180,"date":"2023-09-04T08:34:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T08:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=291180"},"modified":"2023-09-04T08:34:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T08:34:58","slug":"jack-draper-silences-new-york-crowd-as-last-brit-standing-after-trio-exit-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/tennis\/jack-draper-silences-new-york-crowd-as-last-brit-standing-after-trio-exit-us-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Draper silences New York crowd as last Brit standing after trio exit US Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jack Draper overcame the home crowd as he beat Americna Michael Mmoh <\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
The British No 4 silenced the home crowd with a gritty display in a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Grandstand is also the court which Draper hurt his hamstring a year ago in his third-round match against Karen\u00a0Khachanov, forcing him to retire.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI was thinking that on the court today it\u2019s like Groundhog Day out there. I think it was exactly one year on.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast 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\u2019m so proud of the work that I\u2019ve put in the last year. Even though I haven\u2019t been able to compete too much, I generally think I\u2019m a much better player and better all-around athlete, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo 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\u2019m incredibly proud of that and hopefully I can keep going this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jack Draper fought his way into round four <\/p>\n
But Draper is now the last Brit standing in the singles after <\/strong>Cameron Norrie<\/strong>, Dan Evans<\/strong> <\/strong>and Katie Boulter<\/strong> all crashed out.<\/p>\n Evans<\/strong> pushed world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still tough, a very frustrating afternoon but my tennis is in a good spot and that\u2019s important\u201d said Evans.<\/p>\n British men\u2019s No 1 Norrie<\/strong> suffered a much more frustrating loss as he tumbled out after a straight-sets defeat to Matteo Arnaldi<\/strong>. An out-of-sorts Norrie, the 16th seed, was beaten 6-3 6-4 6-3 by the Italian world number 61.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually think I started well,\u201d he said. \u201cI was hitting the ball really well all week but I didn\u2019t have the shot tolerance to hang with him. He was really crafty and won a lot of tough points so credit to him.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Katie Boulter\u2019s run came to an end <\/p>\n Meanwhile, British women\u2019s No 1 Boulter<\/strong>\u2019s run at the US Open was ended in the third round by Peyton Stearns<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s top 50 for the first time in her career, however.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t 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\u2019s side.\u201d<\/p>\nRecommended<\/h3>\n
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