Britain’s No 1 tennis players enjoyed contrasting fortunes at the US Open on Thursday as Jack Draper eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Facundo Díaz Acosta to set up a potential battle with former champion Carlos Alcaraz, while Katie Boulter suffered one of her most disappointing defeats of the season, crashing out 7-5, 7-5 to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Boulter, the 31st seed, had arrived in her second round match as the heavy favourite against Bouzas Maneiro, a scrappy, resourceful 21-year-old Spaniard ranked No 74. Boulter held a set point at 5-4 on Bouzas Maneiro’s serve but she sprayed a routine forehand long before losing three consecutive games to concede the set. Despite fighting back from 1-5 down in set two, the British player paid for her inconsistency in the decisive moments.
Afterwards, Boulter was frustrated about her passive approach to the match and how she failed to step inside the baseline and dominate. “The higher your ranking, the more the other person’s going to have a go at you and you have to kind of almost stamp your authority a little bit and tell yourself that you’re the aggressor. You’re the one that’s going after it, and that’s how I got that number by my name. I could have done that more today.”
After her first round match, Boulter had spoken about her hopes of finally piecing together a deep run at a grand slam tournament. While 2024 has been a stellar career year for her, with her second and third WTA titles propelling her into the top 30 for the first time, her results at the grand slam tournaments have been disappointing and she has failed to reach the third round of a major this year.
Draper, meanwhile, has continued his excellent form from his quarter-final run in Cincinnati, moving into the third round without dropping a set. The 25th seed has had to work extremely hard for wins at the grand slam tournaments this year, being dragged to five sets in each of his previous grand slam first round matches. This week, however, he has reached the third round without dropping a set. Alcaraz, the third seed, faces Botic van de Zandschulp to set up a meeting with Draper, who won their last match at Queen’s this summer.
“Today I think obviously it was three solid sets of tennis,” he said. “I moved well. I was aggressive. I felt like there was times where I was a bit up and down, but that’s just a five-set match for you. Proud of my performances and hopefully I can keep going.”
Draper has now reached the third round or better of the US Open three years in a row, a tournament that is clearly becoming one of his best events on the tour. “I love playing here, for sure. I think the courts really suit my game, especially being a lefty,” said Draper. “I think definitely off the serve it takes the ball, you know, with the slice. If someone hits a slice serve, it really moves off the court, so that’s definitely something that I’ve always found. I think it helps my leftiness. Also, the courts are medium pace. I can use my skills but also my power as well. I can hit through players as well.”
Later on Thursday, Dan Evans returned to the third round in New York with a clinical 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Mariano Navone of Argentina. Two days earlier, Evans had battled through the longest match in the history of the US Open just to reach the second round, recovering from 0-4 down in the fifth set to defeat the 23rd seed, Karen Khachanov, in five sets after five hours, 35 minutes.
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With a day to recover from such a gruelling encounter, the 34 year-old found his feet after a slow start and performed at a high level to reach the third round in New York for the seventh time. His next opponent will be the No 10 seed, Alex De Minaur.
“It was strange” said Evans. “I don’t know why, I felt a bit more extra pressure to win. I didn’t really want to win that match [against Khachanov] and then lose in the next round. It wouldn’t feel right. I really wanted to focus hard, and I did that pretty good.”
Elsewhere, the world No 1, Iga Swiatek, continued to find her feet at the US Open as she demolished the qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-0, 6-1. Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 US Open finalist, was forced to retire from her second-round match against Jasmine Paolini, the fifth seed, after just three points, while Elena Rybakina withdrew from the tournament before her match against France’s Jessika Ponchet.