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British tennis player Jack Draper says he is “feeling really good” after putting recent controversy behind him and advancing to the second round of the US Open in style.
Draper entered the tournament under a dark shadow following the events in Cincinnati, where he was accused of cheating and lying during a controversial match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 22-year-old, who has been attacked on social media by former and current players, admitted he had been thinking about it “non-stop” before arriving at Flushing Meadows, but showed a clear head as he dismantled the injured Zhizhen Zhang in the first round.
He was leading 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 when the Chinese, who fell during training and injured his left knee, retired due to the scorching heat.
“Like I said, obviously it was quite a storm last week,” Draper said. “I definitely needed a couple of days to recover physically, mentally and emotionally from that weekend and all that stuff.”
“The last few days I’ve kind of refreshed myself and got my mindset ready to compete here.
“I think today I was ready to play my best tennis and I felt really, really good. I know he was injured and all.”
Without Zhang’s injury, it would have been one of the toughest draws ever for 25th-seeded Draper, who is one of the highest-ranked players he could have faced.
But at his favorite Grand Slam, he dominated from the start and reached the fourth round last year.
It quickly became clear that Zhang was not fit and Draper won eleven games in a row to end the match. Zhang retired midway through the third set.
“It’s always difficult to play against someone who is injured and hitting the ball,” he said.
“So from his side it’s obviously not ideal, he’s obviously a little bit hurt.
“But from my perspective, my first round matches at the last three Grand Slams have been five sets, so it’s a nice feeling to maybe have one that was a little bit easier and hopefully get me in the mood a little bit.”
