Shock of the men’s second round as Draper beats Auger-Aliassime

Jack Draper defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night.

Jack Draper, US Open 2022 ; AI / Reuters / Panoramic

September 1, 2022

Britain’s Jack Draper advanced to the third round of the US Open by beating Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No 6 seed, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on Thursday.

This is Draper’s first time in the US Open main draw, and he is enjoying a breakthrough season. He reached the second round of Wimbledon earlier in the summer, losing in four sets to 19th seed Alex de Minaur. He had gone into SW19 on a high having reached the semi-finals of Eastbourne the week before.

He now has two wins over opponents ranked in the Top 10, having beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas in Montreal earlier in the month.

Draper, ranked No 53, will play Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 27 seed, next.

Ahead of his victory, Draper won against Finn Emil Ruusuvuori (6-4, 6-3, 6-3).

Felix Auger-Aliassime, US Open 2022 ; AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Auger-Aliassime, ranked No 8, won against Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard (6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3) in the previous round of Flushing Meadows.

Naturally, the defeat is a massive disappointment for Auger-Aliassime, who last year became the first Canadian man ever to reach the US Open semi-finals.

US Open, New York City (Grand Slam), other second-round results

Karen Khachanov beat Thiago Monteiro: 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Yibing Wu (Q) beat Nuno Borges (Q): 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Nick Kyrgios (23) beat Benjamin Bonzi: 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Tommy Paul (29) beat Sebastian Korda: 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Marton Fucsovics: 7-6 (3), 5-7, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (3)
Casper Ruud (5) beat Tim van Rijthoven: 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Daniel Elahi Galan (Q) beat Jordan Thompson: 6-3, 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
J.J. Wolf (WC) beat Alejandro Tabilo: 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
Matteo Berrettini (13) beat Hugo Grenier (LL): 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7)
Andy Murray beat Emilio Nava (WC): 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0
Corentin Moutet (LL) beat Botic van de Zandschulp (21): 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
Pedro Cachin beat Brandon Holt (Q): 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6)
Alex De Minaur (18) beat Cristian Garin: 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
Pablo Carreno Busta (12) beat Alexander Bublik: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5)