Jack Draper reaches US Open quarter-finals in spectacular vogue

For evidence that Jack Draper has hit the big time, one only has to note the presence in his box of the world’s most famous bob.

Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Andy Murray — Anna Wintour only watches the best and the editor-in-chief of Vogue was sitting next to Draper’s brother and agent Ben to watch the British No 1 thrash Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Whatever the 74-year-old made of Draper’s fuchsia kit with the oversized top — or, indeed, the Scarface T-shirt he was pictured wearing yesterday morning — she cannot fail to have been impressed by his tennis.

‘It was amazing to have her here,’ said Draper. ‘I met her for the first time the other day and she seemed really lovely. She said to me how much she loves tennis. I don’t know too much about my fashion yet, but she was saying how much she loves coming to the US Open and hopefully she will be here for me further on in the tournament.’

At the age of just 22, Draper is the first British man to make the last eight of the US Open since Andy Murray in 2016. The last player of either gender to do so was Emma Raducanu in 2021 — and we all know what happened there.

Could Draper make it two British champions in four years? The exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz support that thrilling possibility, but Draper’s next opponent — he was awaiting the winner of last night’s all-Australian clash between Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur — will be far less obliging than Machac, who was startlingly poor.

Both men came into this match without having dropped a set, knowing this was a huge chance to break uncharted ground. With opportunity comes pressure and the sense was that whoever shouldered that weight better would prevail.

Up until 2-3 in the first set, that question remained unanswered. Just as he did in his third-round win against Botic van de Zandschulp, Draper started off cold on his serve.

But on the first point of that sixth game, Machac had an easy ball to dispatch and, with Draper stranded at the net, he blasted the ball straight at his opponent, hitting him on the shoulder.

Did that spark something in Draper? Who knows, but he then responded with three aces in succession.

In the next game the cracks in Machac’s game appeared. The 23-year-old Czech looked riddled with nerves in the biggest match of his life. He hit four unforced errors in a row, including an easy smash at the net, and never recovered.

An analysis of seven double faults, 23 winners and 38 unforced errors was never going to cut it against a man in Draper’s form.

‘The last times we played were a real battle,’ said Draper, who lost all three previous meetings.

‘He was a little bit off his best today, but I had to stay strong. I lost here in the same round last year, so it was nice to come back and do better.

‘I just need to keep going. I love playing here in New York, I love playing on these big stages.’

Draper has made a concerted effort this year to transition from his natural, grinding style — in the mould of his mentor Murray — into a more high-octane game, powered by his 6ft 4in frame.

The process of transition has not always been easy. He was all over the place at the French Open and looked too gung-ho at times at Wimbledon, but here in New York the two sides to his game are operating in harmony.

When Machac was spraying the ball liberally around the Louis Armstrong Court, Draper dug in and let him miss.

Then on the few occasions when he was in difficulty, Draper upped his power and upped the ante.

The fact is he has barely been tested thus far. He has had as smooth a draw as he could have wished for, but the mark of a top player is being able to raise one’s game in the big moments and he has saved 20 of the 21 break points he has faced this fortnight, including six out of six against Machac.

The Brit himself seemed like he could barely believe the ease of his progress.

‘I’m finding it strange. In the matches a lot is going my way,’ he said.

‘I still feel like if I need to, I can improve my level a lot more. In some of the matches my level is dropping because I lose concentration.

‘I think that’s why I’m saving a lot of break points, because in those moments I’m trying to pick my energy up. There’s still a long way for me to go and as the challenge gets higher and I play even better players, hopefully my level will increase.’

The last British man to reach the quarter-finals here without dropping a set was another big-serving leftie, Greg Rusedski, who made the 1997 final.

Draper will hope to match that achievement and perhaps even go one better.

Both men came into this match without having dropped a set, knowing this was a huge chance to break uncharted ground. With opportunity comes pressure and the sense going in was that whoever shouldered that weight better would prevail.

Up until 2-3 in the first set, that question remained unanswered. Just as he did in his third-round win against Botic van de Zandschulp, Draper started off cold on his serve. On the first point of that sixth game, Machac had an easy ball to dispatch, and, with Draper stranded at the net, he blasted the ball straight at his opponent, hitting him on the shoulder.

Did that spark something in Draper? Who knows but he responded with three aces in succession.

In the next game the cracks in Machac’s appeared, revealing a man riddled with nerves in the biggest match of his life. The 23-year-old hit four unforced errors in a row, including a gimme smash at the net, and never recovered.

Draper rampaged through the rest of the match as Machac utterly collapsed. An analysis of seven double faults, 23 winners and 38 unforced errors was never going to cut it against a man in Draper’s form.

The last times we played were a real battle,’ said Draper, who lost all three previous meetings. ‘He was a little bit off his best today but I had to stay strong. I lost here in the same round last year so it was nice to come back and do better.

‘I just need to keep going, I love playing here in new York, I love playing on these big stages.’

Draper has made a concerted effort this year to transition from his natural, grinding style – in the mould of Murray – into a more high-octane game, powered by high 6ft 4in frame and big lefty serve.

The process of transition has not been easy. He was all over the place at the French Open. At Wimbledon he looked a little gung-ho at times but here in New York the two sides to his game are operating in harmony.

When Machac was spraying the ball liberally around the Louis Armstrong court – Flushing Meadows’ secondary arena – Draper dug in and let him miss, using the scrappy instincts he learned as a child when he was among the smallest in his age group.

Then on the few occasions when he was in difficulty, Draper upped power and upped the ante. He saved six out of six break points, often with his banker play pattern of a wide serve from the advantage court then a volley into the open court.

‘In those moments I had to be brave and up my intensity. I was able to produce some clinical moments when I needed to.

‘He was standing quite far back on the return,’ said Draper, explaining his rational for bringing out the serve-volley in the big moments. ‘Louis Armstrong is a lot more lively than the other courts, there was also a shadow so I knew at one side of the court it was more difficult to return.’

The fact that Draper is capable of such cool analysis in the heat of battle shows how emotionally stable and mentally present he has been this fortnight.

If we are to nitpick, his first-serve percentage was lower than he would like at 47 and that will need to improve if he is to push even further into this draw.

The fact is Draper has barely been tested thus far but that is as much down to his excellence as the benevolence of his draw – he is yet to face a fellow seed.

His most impressive statistic is that of the 21 break points he has faced in the tournament he has saved 20, the best record of anyone in the tournament.

The last British man to reach the quarters here without dropping a set was another big-serving leftie – Greg Rusedski, who made the 1997 final.

Draper will hope to match that achievement – perhaps even go one better.