Jack Draper's rise has continued after he became the first British player to reach the US Open quarterfinal since Andy Murray eight years ago.
The 22-year-old is among the most exciting young players to emerge in recent years. He plays an exciting, aggressive brand of tennis that entertains fans during his matches.
However, many fans were unhappy with Draper at the Cincinnati Open that took place before the US Open. On match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime, a shot from the Briton seemed to be a double bounce.
Umpire Greg Allensworth ruled that Draper's shot was fair, to the amazement of Auger-Aliassime. Draper offered to replay the point if there was clear evidence of a double bounce, but no replays were available in Cincinnati.
Many fans slammed Draper, claiming he knew the ball had bounced twice and was being dishonest. Draper opened up about being called a cheater at one of his press conferences at the US Open.
That incident has not dented Draper's confidence. In fact, his level at Flushing Meadows has been outstanding. He took advantage of Carlos Alcaraz being knocked out early from his section to make a great run.
His victory in the fourth round against Tomas Machac was particularly emphatic. Draper dropped just six games during a smashing victory to take him into the quarterfinals of the US Open.
He became the first British player to achieve that since Andy Murray in 2016. At that stage, the three-time Grand Slam champion lost an epic five-set battle against Kei Nishikori. Draper will try to avoid that fate against Alex de Minaur.
Murray has been a hero of Draper's since the start of his career. Unsurprisingly, he was full of praise for his recently retired compatriot when asked about replicating him by reaching the quarterfinals.
"No Andy I obviously miss. Shout out to him. What an unbelievable career the guy has had. Icon of the game. I miss him in the changing rooms. I miss being next to his stinky shoes and all of his stinky clothes. Andy is a legend. If I have half the career that he’s had, then I’ll be a happy man."
Tennis is getting used to not having Murray around anymore after his retirement. It is unsurprising to hear that someone who idolized him as much as Draper misses him a lot as his career continues to develop.
Draper also seemed surprised by how comfortably he defeated Machac in New York. Although their previous matches had been tight battles, the Czech simply never rose to the occasion against his solid opponent.
"I thought that the past few times we have played it has been a really tough battle. Today I thought I played a decent level, he was maybe a little bit off his best but I had to stay strong in the points and it was amazing to play out here on Louis Armstrong. I lost last year here in the same round so it is nice to come back and do better this year."
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