US Open 2023: Jack Draper Wins, Carlos Alcarez Beats Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie Out

• Jack Draper wins, Dan Evans loses to Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie out.

Britain’s Jack Draper reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open but Dan Evans lost a thriller to top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Draper, 21, continued to brush off a pre-tournament injury with a 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over American Michael Mmoh.

Evans, 33, went toe-to-toe with defending champion Alcaraz before going down 6-2 6-3 4-6 6-3 in New York.

Cameron Norrie lost 6-3 6-4 6-3 to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, while Katie Boulter plays later on Saturday.

Like Draper, Boulter is bidding for her best run at a major when she faces American world number 59 Peyton Stearns.

Draper, who has dropped only one set this week, will play Russian eighth seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round.

“It was a long match for me to come through after a tough year. I’m so happy,” he said after beating wildcard Mmoh.

Draper putting injury issues behind him
Counting a booming serve and fizzing forehand as his key strengths, Draper’s talent has never been in doubt.

He reached a career-high ranking of 38th in the world at the start of this year after being one of the fastest climbers on the ATP Tour in the previous six months.

Moving up from outside the world’s top 250 was a result of a string impressive wins, including notable victories against top-10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

But Draper’s progress has been hampered by a series of physical problems, leading to what he described as a “mentally challenging” year.

A small muscle tear in his shoulder at the French Open was the latest in a long line of injuries, ruling him out of Wimbledon and stopping him playing competitively until last month.

A similar problem picked up at the recent Winston-Salem Open led to fears it could stop him playing in New York.

However, Draper has been determined to put the issue to the back of his mind and against 89th-ranked Mmoh showed how he is becoming increasingly resolute.

After dominating the opening two sets, Draper was pegged back as Mmoh improved.

Breaking straight back from losing his serve at the start of the fourth set proved vital for the Briton, enabling him to move 4-2 ahead by taking his opponent’s serve again.

Serving for the match, Draper faced a break point when 25-year-old Mmoh cracked a thunderous forehand past him but saved it by finding his first serve and moved forward to put away a volley.

Mmoh hit another forehand long to tee up match point, Draper again deciding to serve and volley to put away backhand winner before standing with arms outstretched in celebration.

Evans back to his best but falls short against Alcaraz
Evans has had a strange season after struggling for victories either side of winning the biggest title of his career in Washington last month.

Facing Alcaraz is one of the most daunting prospects in the men’s game and Evans knew he would have to bring his best level to stand any chance of causing an upset against the two-time Grand Slam champion.

To his credit, Evans tried to take on the 20-year-old Spaniard and the approach created an entertaining contest full of wonderful technique, incredible rallies and exciting points.

However, the British number two ultimately paid the price for a slow start.

Quickly going a double break down did the damage in the first set and chasing an opponent of Alcaraz’s calibre is not a position which any player wants to find themselves in.

Evans began to cause more problems for Alcaraz, though, as he grew into the contest and moved 2-0 ahead in the second set.

Two double faults in the third game allowed Alcaraz back in, with Evans’s frustrations showing in the next game – where Alcaraz hit a thunderous winner on break point – by whacking the loose ball high into the stands.

Alcaraz’s hold started a run where he won five of the next six games to move two sets ahead.

The chances of Evans turning things around at that point looked slim, but he continued to retain belief in his gameplan and broke for 4-3 on his way to pulling a set back.

It was a sign of the Briton’s level that Alcaraz began to get annoyed, with the Spaniard flinging his racquet into his bag at the end of the set.

But his brilliance dictated which way a tight fourth swung, with Alcaraz somehow landing an outrageous running forehand down the line in the only break point of the set.

“It was a pretty good match, the people love that we played great points, great shots,” said Alcaraz, who is aiming to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to retain the title.

“I’m really happy to get through and play the fourth round at the US Open.”

Alcaraz goes on to play US Open debutant Arnaldi after the 22-year-old swatted aside an out-of-sorts Norrie.

The British men’s number one, seeded 16th, came into the tournament after a run of poor form and, after breezing through the first two rounds, saw his level dip again.

“I think I was actually playing well, I started well in the tournament, I was hitting the ball really well all week,” said 28-year-old Norrie.

“I just didn’t have the shot tolerance to hang with them. He was really crafty and won a lot of tough points. Credit to him.”