DRAPER BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT AS HE BREAKS HIS LAST-16 DUCK

JACK DRAPER was out of sight and out of mind for British audiences for much of this summer, a big slice of his season wrecked by a succession of injuries that reduced him to a spectator at Wimbledon.

Now, from almost nowhere, he is into the last 16 of a Grand Slam event for the first time. The 21-year-old gave another reminder of his ability last night when he ignored a partisan crowd to defeat American Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to make the US Open fourth round, with precious little tennis behind him.

Draper (pictured) will now face eighth seed Andrey Rublev after he beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in four sets, an unlikely scenario 11 days ago when he withdrew from the ATP event in Winston Salem with an injury recurrence.

Draper is nominally ranked No118 due to his prolonged absences this season, but he looked a cut above the slightly unorthodox world No89 on the Grandstand arena at Flushing Meadows.

‘It was tough match, he has had a great year, so I knew it would be a challenge,’ said the British No4. ‘Last year I played in the third round on this same court and injured myself. I’m proud to have got this far after what has been a tough year.’

In a match of heavy slugging from the baseline, Draper’s forehand was misfiring early on, but he slowly showed his superior class and again there was no sign of the shoulder and arm issues which have plagued him. He raced away with the second set but Mmoh hit back to take the third. The Brit forced a break point at 3-2 in the fourth, knowing that he needed to get the win as quickly as possible given that he had only played 19 matches in 2023 prior to this, making stamina a potential issue. He held on to gain a highly creditable win.