Draper Dispatches Hurkacz, Dimitrov Downs Murray In New York

Jack Draper stepped up his return to Tour on Thursday with a statement win against World No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz at the US Open.

The Briton retired in the second round in Winston-Salem last week in his first tournament back on Tour after three months out with a shoulder injury. However, the 21-year-old has shown little sign of discomfort in New York, backing up his opening-round win against Radu Albot with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 triumph against Hurkacz.

"I feel physically good. I haven't had match exposure for a long time, so I'm still sort of managing my body," Draper said. "Still getting a little bit sore. Obviously it's a Grand Slam, as well. You have to push your body and know that if you need to go four or five sets, you need to be ready. And I was today. I feel good.

"With regards to my shoulder, I'm kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, so, you know, just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to."

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Draper was consistent throughout the two-hour, nine-minute clash, frequently making returns off the Hurkacz serve to neutralise rallies. The lefty committed just 22 unforced errors and broke five times to reach the third round at the hard-court major for the second time.

Draper, who reached a career-high No. 38 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings earlier this year, will aim to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time when he next plays Michael Mmoh or John Isner, who is retiring after the US Open.

Hurkacz rallied from two sets down to claw past Marc-Andrea Huelser in the first round, but was unable to cause Draper problems, with the Briton improving to 1-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.

[BREAK POINT]

Seven years on from their previous meeting, Grigor Dimitrov overcame Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round at the US Open for the first time since 2019.

Dimitrov’s last meeting against Murray came in the Beijing final in 2016, when the Scot triumphed as the World No. 2. Facing off again in 2023, the 32-year-old produced a clean-hitting display on Arthur Ashe Stadium to improve to 4-8 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

The Bulgarian, who broke Murray’s serve seven times in the two-hour, 45-minute clash, will next meet Alexander Zverev. The World No. 19’s best result at the hard-court major came in 2019, when he reached the semi-finals.

Dimitrov survived a five-set scare against Alex Molcan in the first round, saving three match points to advance. Earlier this month, the eight-time tour-level champion advanced to the last four on hard at the ATP 500 in Washington.

Murray has tasted success in New York, having defeated Novak Djokovic to capture his maiden major at the event in 2012. The former World No. 1, who earned his 200th Slam win against Corentin Moutet in the first round, has now failed to reach the second week at the US Open in his past five appearances.

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