Jack Draper silences New York crowd as last Brit standing after trio exit US Open

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.

The British No 4 silenced the home crowd with a gritty display in a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

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.

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.

Grandstand is also the court which Draper hurt his hamstring a year ago in his third-round match against Karen Khachanov, forcing him to retire.

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.

He said: “I was thinking that on the court today it’s like Groundhog Day out there. I think it was exactly one year on.

“Last 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’m so proud of the work that I’ve put in the last year. Even though I haven’t been able to compete too much, I generally think I’m a much better player and better all-around athlete, as well.

“To 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’m incredibly proud of that and hopefully I can keep going this week.”

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But Draper is now the last Brit standing in the singles after Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Katie Boulter all crashed out.

Evans pushed world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 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.

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.

“It’s still tough, a very frustrating afternoon but my tennis is in a good spot and that’s important” said Evans.

British men’s No 1 Norrie suffered a much more frustrating loss as he tumbled out after a straight-sets defeat to Matteo Arnaldi. An out-of-sorts Norrie, the 16th seed, was beaten 6-3 6-4 6-3 by the Italian world number 61.

“I actually think I started well,” he said. “I was hitting the ball really well all week but I didn’t have the shot tolerance to hang with him. He was really crafty and won a lot of tough points so credit to him.”

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Meanwhile, British women’s No 1 Boulter’s run at the US Open was ended in the third round by Peyton Stearns. 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.

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’s top 50 for the first time in her career, however.

She said: “I wouldn’t 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’s side.”