Jack Draper vs Alex de Minaur – US Open LIVE: Latest score and set-by-set updates as Draper looks to overcome Australian rival in quarter-final clash

Draper on serve remains a ferocious prospect – when he can get it in – and an ace comes in handy as he sprints to 40-15. But a wild and whippy backhand gives De Minaur a chink of hope as he steps a hair closer to a potential break.

But that’s wishful thinking. Draper pulls another massive ace out of his pocket, which springs past his opponent, and confirms his strong lead.

A confident spell of net play from De Minaur helps him find his footing at 30-30, after Draper’s attempt to beat him cross-court flounders in the netting.

He lets out a quick ‘come on!’ when Draper hits long past the baseline, and manages to pull off a crucial hold after pushing the Briton back forces him to net a second time.

A brief respite from the back-and-forth breaking between the two players, thanks to a towering service game from Draper.

He barely bats an eyelid as he pulverises De Minaur to love, and consolidates that last break, leaving his opponent with a lot to do if he’s to keep from conceding any more ground in this set.

Draper wallops down an overhead after his attempt to wrongfoot De Minaur with a dropshot went awry, smacking his way to a love-30 lead.

Despite his wobble in the previous set, Draper is still by far the more solid player, and he quickly wins two break point. De Minaur digs himself out with an ace of one of them, but, pushed back to the baseline, he can only overcook his final backhand to be broken once again.

While Draper’s serve is looking a little rocky, his forehand is reliable as ever, as De Minaur plays into his hands and allows his opponent to rip a winner past him.

But just minutes after nicking a game off De Minaur, Draper falls victim to his own break, as the Briton’s focus wobbles. A double fault, followed by a shaky backhand, and the Aussie is finally on the board.

De Minaur begins tentatively and quickly falls love-30 behind as Draper moves to seize the upper hand with aggression. But the Australian can pick up his first point of the match – and stop the rot – when one of those punchy backhands is blasted into the net.

His next one is a peach, however. Draper teases De Minaur up to the next with a chipped backhand volley, and although his opponent can catch it, Draper sends a cross-court flyer well past him for break point, 40-15.

An imperfect backhand from De Minaur just skids onto the tramlines to hand Draper the game. Very little to complain about, from his perspective.

As Arthur Ashe begins to buzz with spectators, Draper – clad in tennis-goth purple and black – serves an ace with his first shot on the historic court.

Draper cruises through his opening service game as De Minaur looks rusty on the return, and wins to love.

He may not look entirely relaxed, but Draper certainly looked the more settled of the two players talking to Brad Gilbert in the famed Arthur Ashe tunnel ahead of time.

But now both men are ready to go, let’s see if he can bring the same confidence to the court.

After all the Brits were knocked out of this year’s Wimbledon – somewhat worryingly early – De Minaur (boyfriend of British women’s No 1 Katie Boulter) was more than happy to become an honourary Pom in front of a home crowd.

But things a little more intimidating when he goes toe-to-toe with their compatriot.

Now for three minutes of warm-up. Sky Sports noted earlier that De Minaur’s practice session looked notably intensity-free a few hours out from today’s match-up. Keeping himself on ice – or managing the return of a perilous injury?

Draper heads out first, and is greeted with a big cheer from the crowd, with De Minaur on his heels. It’s a mostly abandoned Arthur Ashe for the moment, the fans likely refilling their Honey Deuce cups in the break.

They’ve got just about four minutes to get back to their seats. This should be a ripper. De Minaur has the upper hand in match-ups so far, but he hasn’t met this year’s Draper model – I think the Brit upstart gets it done in five.

The Brit has been absolutely flying in New York, and comes into today’s clash comparatively well-rested, extremely fit, and firing.

Having been given a helping hand in his first round tie against Zhang Zhizhen when the Chinese player retired in the third set, Draper went on to beat Facundo Diaz Acosta in straight sets, before downing Botic van De Zanschulp – the Carlos Alcaraz Slayer – 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round.

Routing Tomas Machac two days ago 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 in lightning-quick fashion could prove the cherry on the cake. De Minaur has struggled to get things down in three in New York, and could be feeling his feet so soon after recovering from his hip injury.

There might have been familiar faces in Draper’s box in his round of 16 match against Tomas Machac – US Vogue editor Anna Wintour for one – but the Brit’s true supporters, his close-knit family, has flown somewhat under the radar.

Have a sift through Mail Sport’s look at the extended Draper family, below.

Despite looking increasingly unwell, Muchova’s unbelievable class shone through and the Czech was able to close out the match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. She’s had an amazing comeback in New York this tournament in the wake of last year’s wrist surgery, which saw her sidelined for ten months.

She’ll play either Jessica Pegula or Iga Swiatek in her semi-final – the two do battle on Ashe in tonight’s night session.

Not long to go now until Draper v De Minaur…

Draper took the opportunity to get a feel for the number one court earlier today – according to his coach James Trotman, he’s been sticking his nose onto Arthur Ashe at the start of his days in Flushing just in case.

In a few minutes, he’ll be able to experience it for real.

Things aren’t looking so straightforward in the quarter-final between Karolina Muchova and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Czech player pulled off an absolute thrashing of her Brazilian adversary in the first set, pummelling her 6-1, but things are looking a little dicey in the second.

First, Muchova has needed to take repeated trips off court, with a possible stomach upset, or some kind of sickness. And next, at 5-3 against her, Haddad Maia requested a medical timeout amid what looked like a panic attack. The world No 28 is thought to have said that she believed she was going to be sick, but after the MTO, is back on court, and leading the ninth game 30-0.

Draper v De Minaur will be getting underway on the showcourt about 20 minutes after the conclusion of their contest.

Draper may be breaking new ground in New York this week, but it’s been no time at all since he was questioning his vocation altogether.

You can read about his crisis of faith – and subsequent barnstorming 2024 – via Mail Sport’s Matthew Lambert’s report, below.

Good evening – or afternoon – and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of Jack Draper’s first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance: a tantalising US Open match-up against world No 10 Alex de Minaur.

The 22-year-old has only been British No 1 for just over three months, but his spell at the top of his nation’s men’s game has seen him in the form of his life. In New York, he’s certainly looked dangerous, scything through the draw so far without dropping a set.

De Minaur has enjoyed a similarly ground-breaking 2024, but was forced to withdraw from his Wimbledon quarter-final due to injury. The Australian only returned to competition last week in Flushing Meadows, and has had a much more circuitous route to Arthur Ashe this afternoon.

But is it too early for Draper to be dreaming of a spot in the semi-final? Join us as we bring you all the build-up, analysis, and more from a sunny New York City.