Jack Draper has been playing smashing tennis at this year's US Open, but he was warned against 'getting ahead of himself' simply because his draw opened up.
Every match at the US Open is a difficult match because only the best players in the world get a chance to play at the event. It’s a Grand Slam event, which means it only features the best of the best.
While Draper's part of the draw was cleared by Carlos Alcaraz losing surprisingly early to Botic van de Zandschulp, it still features many tricky players. The Brit's next upcoming opponent, Tomas Machac, is a fantastic tennis player who has been playing excellent tennis for a while.
He took out Sebastian Korda, who was in strong form heading into the US Open, which shows how dangerous the Czech player is. So, even though some top seeds, like ALcaraz and Novak Djokovic, are already out, there aren’t any easy opponents in the draw.
Speaking on Draper's chances during the Sky Sports broadcast, former WTA player Laura Robson called his portion of the draw wide open, giving him a solid chance to go really far.
"It’s wide open. Jordan Thompson took out the other high seed in this section, beating Hubert Hurkacz, and for De Minaur to be the highest ranked, I think that’s an opening for a lot of players. Especially for Jack if we’re getting excited and looking ahead."
"De Minaur hasn’t been totally healthy leading up to this tournament, he’s still been struggling with his hip and hasn’t really played since Wimbledon. It feels like a chance."
Her colleague Tim Henman wasn't as bullish, adding that Draper needs to remain focused on the prize, even though he felt similar about the draw being wide open. The 49-year-old Brit warned Draper about taking anything for granted because there are still plenty of great players in his section of the draw.
Each one of them could beat him, and he could beat every one of them, so it just comes down to focus and how well they're executing on the court.
"We’ve looked at that section of the draw, and it has opened up. It’s just so important that he [Draper] really stays focused on his preparation and performance, and doesn’t get ahead of himself. They [players in this section of the draw] will all be aware this is a big opportunity."
Heman makes a strong point because while Draper will fancy his chances in this section of the draw, but the same goes for every other player. As Robson said, it's clearly wide open, and all of the players in it will like their chances to come out on top.
They're of similar quality, and neither has too much experience this deep in a Grand Slam draw, so staying focused with their eyes on the prize is sound advice.
The match between Draper and Machac will be played at the Louis Armstrong Stadium as the second match of Monday's schedule.