Jack Draper proved his quality with his straight-sets win over Alex de Minaur on Wednesday night to reach the semi-finals of the US Open, says Sky Sports expert Tim Henman.

Draper is yet to drop a set in this tournament and is the first player to reach 14-0 sets at the US Open since Emma Raducanu, who won the tournament in 2021.

In his fight against De Minaur he was tested several times and Henman believes this demonstrated Draper’s true abilities.

“It’s absolutely brilliant. When I think back to the (Tomas) Machac match, it was so straightforward. Jack played brilliantly but he never really struggled with adversity,” said Henman Sky Sports Tennis.

“Dealing with adversity is the hardest part in any professional sport and (against De Minaur) there was a lot of adversity because he got distracted by what happened in the second set and that’s where I think Jack showed mental strength, he showed the maturity to find a way to get through it.”

He added: “I think he can be very proud in many ways. He played great tennis. Of course he had his problems physically. It will be interesting to hear how his leg feels.”

“But also mentally – there were a lot of opportunities out there to get distracted. He came out, showed his authority in the first set and seemed confident, and then he had a lot of chances in the second set.

“But De Minaur will never give up. He’s a great competitor and he’s hung in there, and suddenly (Draper) has to serve to stay at 4-5 in the second set.

“He played some great games to hold serve, break serve and then finish it off. Then he was in such a strong position at two sets to zero.”

Henman believes De Minaur will be back. “He’s such a good competitor, he gets the absolute maximum out of his game. His movements are in my opinion in the top three in the game. But with the hip injury he’s had since Wimbledon, he seemed to struggle,” he said.

“He really wants to take the next step. The next step for him is the semi-finals of a Grand Slam and he hasn’t made it.

“But I firmly believe that he will be in the quarter-finals again in the future and reach the semi-finals.”

“So much firepower”

Sky Sports’ Expert Laura Robson said:

“His ability to dictate the game once he gets that first serve is a game changer. His game has so much firepower.

“Someone as good on the move as De Minaur couldn’t read the forehand. He just puts so much rotation into the ball. From the court side where I was standing, the height of some of his forehands over the net was outstanding because the topspin rate is extreme. He still puts power into the ball.

“It just allows him to move on from there and then play those faster, flatter shots that he’s looking for all the time.

“It was just… good.”