Dazzling Draper reaches US Open quarter-finals

Jack Draper produced a superb show to scope the US Open quarter-finals with a straight-set triumph implicit Tomas Machac.

The Briton stormed to a 6-3 6-1 6-2 triumph to publication his spot successful the past 8 of a Grand Slam for the archetypal time.

The 22-year-old becomes the archetypal Brit to marque the quarter-finals of the men's singles astatine Flushing Meadows since Andy Murray successful 2016.

"Today I played a decent level," Draper said.

"He was possibly a small spot disconnected his champion but I had to enactment beardown successful the points. I mislaid present past twelvemonth successful the aforesaid circular truthful it's bully to travel backmost and bash better."

Czech Machac had won the 3 erstwhile matches betwixt the brace but, aft a beardown start, was outclassed by a laser-focused Draper successful conscionable 1 hr and 44 minutes.

With a fig of large names, astir notably Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, having gone retired early, Draper has yet to driblet a acceptable successful the tourney and has each crushed to judge helium tin spell each the way.

This was a connection show successful what has been a breakthrough twelvemonth for the 6ft 4in left-hander, 1 that has included his maiden ATP rubric successful Stuttgart and triumph implicit Wimbledon champion Alcaraz astatine Queen's.

Should Draper triumph his quarter-final tie, helium could look satellite fig 1 Jannik Sinner successful the past four.

Machac, 23, made the brighter commencement to the match, imposing himself with a flurry of crunching forehands and taking Draper to deuce successful the Briton's opening work game.

But Draper withstood the aboriginal barrage, settled successful with 3 aces successful his adjacent work crippled and soon began to instrumentality control.

He was talented the archetypal interruption erstwhile Machac enactment a regular overhead into the nett and past went long, but took afloat advantage, hammering a scorching backhand down the enactment to bring up 2 acceptable points earlier converting a third.

After showing his powerfulness from the baseline successful the first, Draper showed his deft interaction to commencement the 2nd with a brace of good driblet shots.

But portion determination was a swagger to an progressively assured Draper, his hostile was increasing ever much frustrated and heated discussions with manager Daniel Vacek betwixt - and during - games became the norm.

Double faults were becoming an contented for the Czech satellite fig 39 and 2 successful a crippled enabled his hostile to interruption astatine the archetypal clip of asking successful the 2nd set.

Having got the advantage, Draper was ruthless arsenic helium moved serenely astir the court, coolly staving disconnected a break-back constituent earlier earning his 2nd interruption to spell up 5-1.

Two eye-catching winners helped him service it retired and the imaginable of a Machac comeback looked improbable erstwhile the Briton broke successful the archetypal crippled of the 3rd set.

Of the six interruption points Draper faced 5 came successful his last 2 work games arsenic Machac - by this signifier 2 breaks down - tried to hold the inevitable but again the British fig 1 kept his cool.

With a quarter-final spot confirmed, different triumph would spot Draper go the archetypal Briton to marque the men's semi-finals successful New York since Murray claimed his archetypal Slam successful 2012.

Draper's show and the evident easiness with which helium dealt with a perchance tricky hostile drew praise from a fig of erstwhile players, including erstwhile British fig 1 Tim Henman.

"From 3-3 successful the archetypal set, Jack Draper perfectly destroyed [Machac]," Henman said connected Sky Sports.

"I deliberation Draper showed a batch of maturity to support dominating proceedings and decorativeness it disconnected successful consecutive sets.

"We cognize that the challenges volition get harder and harder but you tin lone bushed the absorption successful beforehand of you and Machac is simply a prime player."

Draper deed 36 winners successful the lucifer and mixed up his play well, competing with Machac from the baseline portion besides showing willingness to travel to the nett erstwhile chances came up.

"He knows what his gameplan is, what his strengths are and helium has not adjacent looked 1 iota nervous," said 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova connected Sky Sports.

"He conscionable keeps going for it and didn’t fto up."

Laura Robson, who reached the 4th circular astatine Flushing Meadows successful 2012, added: "Tomas Machac is nary gag disconnected the baseline but Jack Draper took the tennis retired of his hands.

"He was the 1 to unfastened up the lines, to adhd the power, to spell for much adjacent if it meant a fewer much unforced errors successful that archetypal set. The absorption from Draper was astonishing to see."