Jack Draper loses to No8 seed Andrey Rublev at US Open

US Open 2023: Jack Draper loses to No 8 seed Andrey Rublev in four sets, ending British interest in singles draws with Russian through to quarter-finals

  • Draper had led in the third set at one set apiece but faltered and lost 3-1 overall
  • He was the last British man after Dan Evans’ and Cam Norrie’s defeats last week
  • The 21-year-old’s lack of recent matches and experience were decisive factors

Jack Draper briefly drove his opponent along the road to distraction at the US Open on Monday night, only to run out of gas himself.

The 21 year-old lefthander became the last Brit to depart the singles at Flushing Meadows when he was beaten 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 by world number eight Andrey Rublev on a punishingly sweaty Labour Day afternoon.

That it was no bank holiday for Rublev was a testament to what an awkward customer Draper is, but ultimately the British player’s shortage of recent matches and lack of experience over the best-of-five format were the decisive factors.

A consolation is that he walked away with £225,000 in prize money and enough points to start reviving a falsely low ranking of 123, caused by the repeat injury problems that have so hampered his season.

Rublev ranted at himself in the second set and went an early break down in the third, but his precision power always made him the likely victor against a wearying opponent, whose movement was suffering by the end.

Britain’s Jack Draper has been knocked out of the US Open after losing to No8 seed Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev fought through to victory on Labour Day as Draper’s shortage of recent matches cost him

Draper has however walked away with £225,000 in prize money as he continued to show his potential to be one of the best

While predicted soaring temperatures did not quite materialise conditions were humid amid the intermittent rain showers that led the roof to be closed on the Louis Armstrong Stadium , something that would not hurt Draper’s chances.

This was the same court on which he comfortably disposed of eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round a year, so there were good memories to draw upon.

It did not look that way, however, as he initially struggled to cope with the high tempo game of the Russian, who is all about speed: with his feet, his forehand and his rapid time between serves.

Draper was uncharacteristically leaking backhand errors as he was pulled around the court by his opponent’s rapid fire groundstroking, and struggling to land enough first serves in. It was soon clear why the Russian has such an excellent record against lefthanders, winning 14 of his last 16 against southpaws.

Draper leaked uncharacteristic backhand errors and he was pulled around the court early on

Rublev grew frustrated, however, screaming at himself as he lost the second set of the game

He managed to turn it around in the second set by fending off four break points to hold on for 2-1. While the British player was getting frustrated with a malfunctioning net cord machine – and more bizarrely asking the umpire to ‘sort out the air-con’ in the open arena – the sometimes highly-strung Rublev completely lost it at his failure to convert chances.

Curling up on his haunches he began screaming at himself, and the loss of control showed itself in the sixth game when he double faulted to get broken for 4-2. He then missed two break point chances to get back level and there was more self-beration in the style of Basil Fawlty, which is sure to have given encouragement to his younger challenger.

At the end of the set Rublev went off for a calming toilet break, followed by Draper. The hiatus lasted around eight minutes, and it remains a mystery why tennis tolerates these stoppages, just when matches are coming to the boil.

Draper broke at the start of the third when the Russian shanked a forehand, but Rublev had regained his mental equilibrium and began to make inroads against a serve which overall had been delivering plenty of aces but misfiring too much at the first attempt.

Wimbledon champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz (pictured) beat Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets to secure a quarter final spot

Having levelled for 2-2 he gained the decisive edge by drilling a forehand down the line to go two sets to one up. Given that Draper had only played one four set match in his career – and that his third round on Saturday – it was always likely to be a tall order for him to win in five against a super fit opponent.

‘I was feeling the ball really well, I thought let’s try to make it as long as possible because Jack is coming back from injury,’ said Rublev.

Carlos Alacaraz avoided the fate of his fellow top seed Iga Swiatek when he made it through to the quarter finals courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. The Wimbledon champion was left awaiting the winner of Alex Zverev and Jannik Sinner.

Overnight in her fourth round women’s defending champion Swiatek had found herself outhit by former French Open champion, the number 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko. She was followed out on Monday night by third seed Jessica Pegula, beaten 6-1 6-3 by Madison Keys and yet again falling short in a Grand Slam.

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