Jack Draper’s upset over sixth-seeded Félix Auger-Aliassime in the second round of the US Open propelled him into the limelight.
This year, the 20-year-old Londoner has established himself as one of the sport’s most exciting young stars, and he entered Wednesday’s match against Auger-Aliassime confident of victory.
This will be his first entry into the top 50.
Draper has previously expressed a desire to emulate his buddy Emma Raducanu, and his performance on one of the sport’s biggest stages was a superb demonstration of aggressive hitting and composure.
He had threatened a great result at Wimbledon when he led Alex De Minaur by a set before fading physically, but two months ago seems like a lifetime ago given the rate of Draper’s growth.
Since then, he has defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his first ATP Masters quarterfinal in Montreal and defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round of a grand slam other than Wimbledon.
Last year’s semi-finalist, Auger-Aliassime, had a shaky start, and Draper capitalized on a break in the opening game. The first time he was put under pressure, he had opportunities to extend his lead, but he kept his composure and showed exceptional defensive abilities to win the set.
Overall, however, Draper’s powerful serve kept him at bay, and that was the only game in which he faced break-point opportunities. Draper’s multifaceted skills are what makes him so outstanding. His serve and forehand are his most obvious weapons, but he is also adept at going to the net, and his movement has vastly improved over the past year.
In the fifth game of the third set, Auger-Aliassime was rendered powerless by a cross-court dink after being stunned by a backhand pass tucked down the line that gave the British No. 4 a break at 4-3 in the second set.
Draper could have been excused for a few nerves before serving for the biggest victory of his life, but instead, he surged past the finish line to set up a match against the 27th-seeded Karen Khachanov.
