Jack Draper insisted he felt “freshened up” and “good about himself” as he reached the second round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
It’s always difficult to play someone who’s injured and slashing at the ball Jack Draper
The British No.1 was rocked by accusations of cheating at the recent Cincinnati Open when he defeated Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime.
It has been reported he had “unwittingly hit a ball into the ground and then over the net” for a winner on match point. Umpire Greg Allensworth, “ruled the shot to be fair and there was no replay technology available” after Auger-Aliassime protested. A storm stirred up on social media.
But Draper was able to put it behind him as he defeated China’s No.1 Zhizhen Zhang who retired with the 22-year-old Brit leading 6-3 6-0 4-0. His opponent was suffering in the high on-court temperatures after injuring his left knee in practice.
Draper said to the media: “It was a bit of a storm last week. I played three tough matches at Cincinnati and then obviously in the match against Holger Rune (the day following his controversial victory), I wasn’t all there. I was not physically tired, but a bit mentally, sort of bamboozled by the night before.
“It definitely took a few days to sort of physically recover from that weekend, mentally and emotionally. In the last couple of days, I feel like I’ve sort of freshened up and my mindset in competing here. I think today. I know Zhang got injured and stuff, but I was ready to play my best tennis out there. I felt really, really good about myself.”
Draper, the 25th seed, got an early grip against Zhang and won 11 games in a row before his opponent called time on the match.
He said: “It’s always difficult to play someone who’s injured and slashing at the ball.”
Draper could face 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz if he defeats Uruguayan Fabricio Diaz in the second round.
