Great Britain’s Jack Draper drew Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round—undoubtedly a pleasant surprise given that No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, a three-time major winner, had been slated to be his opponent. But the Dutchman pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, shocking Alcaraz and the tennis world.
So Draper found himself on Grandstand Saturday afternoon, facing the world No. 74 rather than under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium playing the flashy Spaniard.
Draper took full advantage of his unexpected fortune, smoking the Dutchman in straight sets. On match point, the Brit smacked a confident, inside-out forehand winner to stake his place in the Round of 16 for the second consecutive year.
But then again, the 22-year-old from Sutton, England has long been the beneficiary of good fortune. Draper was born into a tennis family. His father, Roger, is a former Lawn Tennis Association chief executive and his mother, Nicky, a former British tennis champion. Draper’s older brother Ben played college tennis at University of California, Berkeley. The younger Draper began playing tennis at age three, hitting at the tennis club where his mother coached, and as a junior he trained at the National Tennis Center commissioned by his dad.
Draper has said that during those years as a junior, some fellow players were put off by his insider upbringing. “There was quite a lot of jealousy when I was younger,” Draper asserted a couple of years ago. “I would often go to junior tournaments and have 15 boys on the balcony that I had never seen before, willing me on to lose, making noises before I serve, all that sort of stuff.”
“I realized as I got older, that’s just the way it is,” he said. “There’s always going to be people thinking that I am getting better treatment.”
People have had their eyes on the world No. 25 left-hander for a few years now, and not just because he moonlights as an IMG model and can be seen in splashy spreads of fashion magazines. Draper has the weapons for success—a big, whipped forehand; a penetrating, 130 mph serve that The Telegraph called a “lefty Howitzer”; and surprising touch around the net. His two-handed backhand is dependable, compact, and punchy.
When I first discovered Draper two years ago, I joked that his name made him sound more like a slick MI5 agent in an espionage thriller than a professional tennis player. “Draper. Jack Draper.” Heck, he even looked the part. But then I saw him play and could see that he was for real.
Last year, even though he reached the Round of 16, he had just overcome a shoulder injury and seen his ranking plummet outside the Top 100. He really didn’t have the opportunity to play a full schedule. “It kind of feels like I've played a lot of matches,” said Draper, “but at the same time this is my first proper year on tour, and I'm learning and understanding myself better all the time."
The Brit has begun the steady climb back up. He’s at a career-high No. 25.
Earlier this summer, Draper won the grass-court Wimbledon warmup in Stuttgart, beating the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Matteo Berrettini. He then beat Alcaraz at Queen’s Club. And prior to arriving in Flushing, Draper made the quarterfinal of the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, defeating No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 6-foot-4 Draper has conspicuously added to his arsenal of powerful weapons, filling out his game with greater variety: sneaky short balls; an eagerness to come in, even occasionally serving and volleying; and light-touch drop shots.
“The one thing about me being tall that's different from a lot of other tall players is that I can scrap, I can move, I can defensively be really good when I need to be,” Draper said. “I can serve volley more. I can come forward more, use my athleticism in a way of being attacking, not just defending as well, and I'm being more open to step up on second-serve returns. And I'm definitely becoming more comfortable in my game and trying to move in the right direction with my tennis.”
Still developing is his mindset. “I'm still learning how to play five sets almost,” he said on Saturday. “Knowing that I don't have to come out and be fully energized, I have to kind of pace myself in these matches because it is potentially a very long match.”
Through three rounds of the US Open, Draper is playing with confidence, striding about the court with a determination that could be described as a strut. He dons a youthful backwards baseball cap and a loose-fitting, plum-colored kit. But he is pretty much all business on court. Like he's heading places.
In a section of the draw with a gaping hole where Alcaraz once loomed, Draper has been gifted with a real opportunity to go the distance at this year's Open.
Draper has demonstrated he knows how to take advantage of what's put in front of him.
"We keep wanting more," Draper said after his win on Saturday.
That sounds like determination—or a warning.
