Great Britain’s Jack Draper is hoping to reach his first ever Grand Slam quarter-final when he takes on Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac at the US Open this evening.
The British No. 1 defeated the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-4 6-2 in straight sets on Saturday to reach the fourth round and equal his best ever performance at a tennis major.
Draper, who has battled against injuries this season, says he is now full fit and aiming to reach to the latter stages of the tournament at Flushing Meadows.
“I feel very different to last year,” he said, “I think I barely played any tennis in the year, struggling with injuries all the time, and then obviously came here. I feel very different now. I’m not waking up every day worried about playing five sets.”
Today’s match is scheduled to begin around 6pm with Machac triumphing in his only previous ATP Tour meeting with Draper 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 in Geneva back in May.
Follow all the action from the US Open with our live blog below:
Jack Draper vs Tomas Machac LIVE
Jack Draper has enjoyed a memorable year so far.
He won his first ATP title at the Stuttgart Open in June before beating Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s a few days later.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Tomas Machac, beat Belgium’s David Goffin in straight sets to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.
Mike Jones2 September 2024 16:30
Jack Draper vs Tomas Machac LIVE
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the US Open tennis. Jack Draper is facing Tomas Machac in the fourth round after a dominant victory over Botic van de Zandschulp.
The British No. 1 defeated the Dutchman in straight sets last time out and is keen to advance deep into the tournament this time around.
The two men have played each other only once before with Machac winning an ATP Tour meeting with Draper 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 in Geneva back in May.
We’ll have all the build-up and action to this contest throughout the evening so stick around to see if Draper can reach the US Open quarter-finals.
Mike Jones2 September 2024 15:12