A crestfallen Alex de Minaur has bombed out of the US Open as injury once again cruelly curtailed his grand slam dreams.
As much as he tried, de Minaur was unable to disguise his despair after his movement was clearly compromised in a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 quarterfinal loss to inspired Englishman Jack Draper.
Australia's big last hope floundered in a sea of forehand errors but a flare up to the hip injury that had sidelined him since Wimbledon ultimately robbed de Minaur of any realistic chance to reach a maiden grand slam semi-final.
"I just want to say I'm very proud of myself, of what I have achieved, all things considering, doing everything I could to be in this position. Today it wasn't meant to be," he said.
"Jack is never easy to play in the best of times, and the way he can spread the court, being a lefty and really move you around the court, it takes a toll on the body. Accumulation of matches takes a toll as well.
"But he played well. He deserves the win. He moved me around the court, and served great.
"In the few chances that I had, I wasn't able to execute."
Australia's world No.10 had beaten the 25th-ranked Draper in all three previous encounters and said he never considered either quitting or not starting the match.
"It's not part of me, part of my DNA," he said.
"I don't like it, if I'm honest. I'm always going to give my best.
"And, look, it could have been naive of me, but I genuinely thought that there was a chance even in that last game going in.
"I thought that there was a chance that I was going to change the match around and go out there and win it.
"So at every stage in that match, I gave myself a shot, with my attitude, with my mindset, to go out there.
"I had some chances as well, that who knows if I would have taken them, then maybe I would still be on court right now.
"So retiring, that's not part of me. Over my career, you'll very rarely witness that."
But, looking bothered by the hip injury, the world No.10 struggled to find top gear at Arthur Ashe Stadium as Draper continued his march through the Open draw.
Even Draper admitted he had received a little leg-up from de Minaur.
"He was struggling a little bit today with something and that helped me a little bit," Draper said
Regardless, Draper delivered a masterclass to end Australia's singles interest in the final grand slam of the year.
While de Minaur's horror unforced forehand error count hit 18, the classy Brit dictated from the get-go with powerful groundstrokes, big serving and a succession of sumptuous forehand drop shots.
Draper's reward is a first grand slam semifinal appearance against either world No.1 and reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner or fifth-seeded 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev.
The free-hitting youngster has yet to drop a set all tournament and has conceded a meagre 36 games in 15 sets on the way to becoming the first British man to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since former world No.1 Andy Murray won the title in 2012.
The 22-year-old's run is eerily similar to that of another English success story, when Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world by winning the women's crown without conceding a set in 2021 as a qualifier.
Draper winning two more matches and lifting the title would not be quite as surprising, but the emerging star's incredible run thus far looks that of a man on a similar journey to Raducanu.
AAP
Thanks for joining me bright and early this morning!
Although it wasn't the result we hoped for, de Minaur put up a fight and we'll just have to wait that little bit longer to see him hold that grand slam trophy.
Have a great day and hopefully see you again when we head back to the first grand slam of 2025, the Australian Open!
LoadingSpare a thought for de Minaur; it's the fourth time he's gone out in a major quarterfinal.
The stats tell the story of this match for de Minaur. He gave up 20 break point opportunities to Draper and only hit 21 winners.
He never seemed to hit his stride in the entirety of the match. It looks like his hip (which has been bothering him since Wimbledon) wasn't at 100 per cent and you could see that towards the end of the third set.
But in true Alex form, he fought hard to stay in the match but ultimately couldn't convert.
Draper was excellent in covering the ground. He had 72 per cent of points up at the net and 11 aces.
Here's what the Brit had to say after the match:
"It's amazing, my first match on the biggest court in the world, it's a dream come true," Draper says as he's interviewed on-court by Brad Gilbert.
"I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I have in a long time, that's where Alex has got me in the past. And I think he was struggling physically with something today."
I'm sad for de Minaur, but hats off to Draper for playing an excellent game.
He serves out the game with a triple match point. Sensational from the Brit.
Draper has had all the answers today.
He reaches the last four without dropping a set all fortnight and defeats de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
His opponent will be decided later today when world No.1 and reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and fifth-seeded 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev take the court.
Draper will serve for a place in the semis.
He leads 5-2 and is showing little sympathy for his opponent...he's been absolutely ruthless today.
Draper digs himself out of danger from 15-40 to take another step towards his first grand slam semifinal.
de Minaur is hobbling now. It looks as though we're coming towards the end of this match...
What's going on with Alex today? He's playing a little flat. I'm not seeing the usual Demon magic
