Japan Open: Britain’s Jack Draper Upsets Second Seed Hubert Hurkacz

Jack Draper, the UK’s US Open semi-finalist, expressed his robust condition after defeating the number two seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4, advancing to the Japan Open quarter-finals. Recently, Draper became the first British man to enter the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray’s victory 12 years ago, but he was stopped by the eventual champion, Jannik Sinner.

Continuing his strong performance in Tokyo, Draper, currently ranked 20th globally but unseeded at the tournament, completed his victory over Hurkacz in just 84 minutes. He is now poised to face either American Brandon Nakashima or France’s Ugo Humbert next.

“I’m very happy with how I’m performing overall, particularly with my movement and my serve,” Draper stated. “I feel really strong here in Tokyo and am excited to continue competing in this tournament.”

Draper’s progress is notable given his recovery from multiple shoulder injuries and his ranking outside the top 100 during last year’s Japan Open. Remarkably, he has not yet faced a break on his serve in the tournament.

Highlighting an area of improvement, Draper mentioned, “I’ve always had a high win rate on my first serve, though I’ve struggled with consistency. Now, I’m finding a better rhythm and landing more first serves.”

With Hurkacz’s departure, only three of the tournament’s eight seeded players remain. Notably, top seeds such as Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Frances Tiafoe were all eliminated in the opening round.

Meanwhile, defending champion and eighth seed, Ben Shelton, successfully advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Mariano Navone.