US Open: Draper reaches last four as de Minaur falls short again

Alex de Minaur has yet again fallen one match short of a making a Grand Slam semi-final, losing to Jack Draper in the US Open quarter-finals on Wednesday in New York.

Most tennis betting sites had the Australian as a slight favourite, but a hip injury suffered at Wimbledon reared its head and prevented him from playing his natural game.

The world No.10 could not lean on his agility nearly as much as he would typically, with Draper winning 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 in just over two hours.

“Today wasn’t ideal,” de Minaur confessed in his post-match press conference.

“I was expecting to feel better, I was trending in the right direction.

“Today was a little bit the opposite of that.”

The US Open was de Minaur’s first tournament back since Wimbledon in July, when he tweaked his hip on match point against Arthur Fils in the round of 16.

He had looked good across the course of his first four matches in New York, seeing off Marcos Giron, Otto Virtanen, Dan Evans and Jordan Thompson for the loss of just three sets.

Having now made three Grand Slam quarter-finals in a row without advancing to the last four, the Aussie will have to wait at least another four months for his next chance.

Draper’s US Open odds firm with maiden Grand Slam semi-final

For Draper, he is now through to the first major semi-final of his career.

He will face the winner of world No.1 Jannik Sinner and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev for a spot in the final.

Bovada has shortened his odds of winning the title, bringing him from double digits into +700.

That puts him ahead of Frances Tiafoe (+1200) but still behind Sinner (-111.11), Taylor Fritz (+400) and Medvedev (+450).

“This is a privilege, and this is an honour to be in this position,” Draper said about his upcoming US Open semi-final.

“This is why I work so hard, so I’ve got to just keep it going in my stride.

“I’m not afraid of being in these positions.

“I want to keep on doing this, and this is why I play.”

Draper now has two days to recover from a possible injury himself before the semi-finals, with the 22-year-old sporting a heavily strapped hamstring against de Minaur.

“I was a little bit worried about it at the time but then I played two sets on it,” he explained.

“At the end of the day it didn’t get any worse, and I felt good towards the end.”

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