Jack Draper proved his quality to reach the semi-finals of the US Open with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night, says Sky Sports expert Tim Henman.
Draper is yet to drop a set at the tournament and is the first player to go 14-0 in sets at the US Open since Emma Raducanu, who won the tournament in 2021.
He was tested at times in his match with De Minaur and Henman believes that demonstrated Draper’s true capabilities.
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“It’s absolutely brilliant. When I take my mind back to the [Tomas] Machac match, it was so straightforward. Jack played brilliantly but he never really had to deal with adversity,” Henman told Sky Sports Tennis.
“Dealing with adversity in any professional sport is the most difficult bit and [against De Minaur] there was plenty of adversity because he could get distracted by what was going on in the second set and that was where I think Jack showed mental fortitude, he showed maturity to find a way to come through it.”
He added: “I think he can be so proud of so many different aspects. He played great tennis. He obviously had his challenges physically. It’ll be interesting to hear how that leg is feeling.
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“But also mentally – there were a lot of opportunities to get distracted out there. He came out, stamped his authority on the first set and looked comfortable and then in the second set he had a lot of opportunities.
“But De Minaur’s never going to go away. He’s a great competitor and he hung in and suddenly [Draper] has to serve to stay in the second set at 4-5.
“He played a couple of great games to hold serve, to break serve and then to finish it off. Then at two sets to love he was in such a strong position.”
Henman believes De Minaur will come again. “He’s such a good competitor, he gets the absolute maximum out of his game. His movement I think is top three in the game. But with the hip injury he’s had since Wimbledon it looked like he was struggling,” he said.
“For him, he’s desperate to make that next step. The next step for him is the semi-finals of a Grand Slam and he’s come up short.
“But I truly believe he will be back in quarter-finals again and make semis in the future.”
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‘So much firepower’
Sky Sports’ pundit Laura Robson said:
“His ability to dictate play once he gets the first serve in just changes everything. He’s got so much firepower to his game.
“Someone who’s such a great mover like De Minaur couldn’t read the forehand. He just gets so much rotation on the ball. From courtside where I was the height over the net of some of the forehands was outstanding because the topspin rate is extreme. He’s still getting power on the ball.
“It just allows him to move forward afterwards and then play the faster, flatter shots that he’s looking for all the time.
“It was just… good.”
