"I feel the best fitness wise": Jack Draper highlights reason behind outclassing Alex De Minaur to book US Open semifinal berth

Britain’s tennis star Jack Draper has highlighted the primary reason why he managed to get over the line in the quarterfinal of the US Open against Australia’s Alex De Minaur. The 22-year-old cemented his spot in the last-four after beating Australia’s number one player in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

It was the first time in four meetings that Draper managed to beat De Minaur. In all the previous three meetings, the Australian had come out on top. Talking after the match, Draper stated that he felt ‘best’ fitness-wise, which helped him beat the current world number 10 in New York. He also highlighted that maybe the Sydney-born star struggled with fitness concerns during the match, which also helped him on the day.

“It's amazing,” he said. “To be out here for my first match on the biggest court in the world, it's a dream come true for me. Thank you for the support, it means the world. I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness wise I've been in a long, long time. I think that's where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a little bit today with something which may have helped me a little it. But credit to Alex, he's an amazing fighter, an unbelievable player, and we're going to have many more battles to come.”

Draper is now set to face the world number one Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the mega-event. The 23-year-old cemented his spot in the last-four after beating the world number five Russia’s Daniil Medvedev with a score of 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. It will be only the second time when both players meet in professional tennis. In the only previous meeting, which took place three years back in Queen’s ATP Championship, it was Draper who came out on top in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6.