Wins keep British flag flying despite US Open exit for Andy Murray
Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper booked their spots in round three.
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Your support makes all the difference.Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper kept the British flag flying heading into round three at the US Open.
Andy Murray may have been sent packing, but there were sparkling wins for the other three British men at Flushing Meadows.
British number one Cameron Norrie fired 15 aces on his way to a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory over qualifier Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei.
“Honestly, he should have won the first set but I was able to take the momentum into the second set,” said the 28-year-old.
“I was really happy with how I played the big points and I’m happy to be through.”
Norrie will face world number 61 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in round three.
Evans, the British number two, came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3.
It is the sixth time the 33-year-old has reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, although he will have his work cut out to go any further, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz his next opponent.
Probably most impressive was Draper, who last year was ranked as high as 38 in the world but has endured a torrid 12 months with injuries and had to miss Wimbledon with a shoulder tear.
Now outside the top 100, Draper felt the shoulder again in a warm-up event in the US and feared the worst.
But the issue has cleared up and Draper is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows after beating 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 7-5 in the second round.
“I felt something in my arm again that I hadn’t had in a while, and, you know, came here with the intention of ‘we’ll take it day by day’,” he said.
“I had a scan and I had a very small bit of edema in my arm, which is basically a tear.
“I was looking with my coach and physio thinking, you know, just another bit of time off. We were almost in tears. What more can we do?”
He continued: “There was a strong chance I couldn’t play this week. But we got the scans done and sent it back home and they said it’s not the same injury, so it’s not that serious.
“I’m kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, I just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to.”