After brush with controversy in Cincy, refocused Jack Draper moving on at US Open

NEW YORK—Jack Draper says he felt mentally “bamboozled” after watching the slow-motion replay of his controversial Cincinnati Open match point—but two weeks after his first brush with the tennis world’s harsh spotlight, the Brit is officially ready to move on at the US Open.

The 22-year-old has booked a third-round spot with little drama at the year’s final Grand Slam event, where he’s yet to lose a set as he confidently moved past Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 (retirement) and, on Thursday, scored a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Facundo Diaz Acosta.

Having been sidelined for much of last season due to injuries, Draper is making up for lost time in 2024. He arrived in New York City with a new career high ranking of No. 25, after reaching his second career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Cincinnati.

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But Draper revealed that he needed a few days to hit the mental reset button, after seeing the waves of criticism from tennis fans and tour peers for his role in the contentious ending of a third-round match with Felix Auger-Aliassime that saw chair umpire Greg Allensworth miss a crucial call on match point.

“It was just a new experience for myself. I’ve never been in that situation before, where suddenly you’re getting criticism from people,” Draper told press after his first-round match in Flushing Meadows. “It’s all good and well when you’re not playing well, and getting ‘You’re terrible at tennis’ online. But when you’re getting comments about cheating and lying, that’s difficult. It definitely plays on your mind.

“It was a good experience to have those emotions and those feelings, and have to block it out and focus on what’s important.”

WATCH: Double-bounce controversy! Jack Draper defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati 3R | MATCH POINT

Britain’s top-ranked player won his first ATP title on grass courts in Stuttgart this summer, but tends to save his best tennis for the North American hard courts. In Cincinnati, the 22-year-old lefty caught fire again to upset an out-of-sorts Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.

But when he closed out his next match against Auger-Aliassime with a half-volley on match point, he accidentally hit it into the ground before the ball floated over the net in what Draper called a “split second of madness.” Allensworth awarded the point, and the match, to Draper—triggering a long discussion on court and countless debates online.

Much of the criticism on social media was directed at Draper for not conceding the point; he initially offered to replay it, but ultimately left the decision up to the chair umpire and asked for a video review. Draper admitted that the controversy affected him in the days that followed, as he bowed out 6-4, 6-2 to Holger Rune in the next round.

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“Obviously, it was a bit of a storm last week,” Draper reflected. “I played three tough matches there, and then in the match against Holger, I wasn't all there. I was not only physically tired, but mentally sort of bamboozled by the night before.

“Definitely took a few days to physically recover from that week, and mentally and emotionally and all those things. In the last couple of days, I feel like I’ve freshened up and my mindset’s on competing here.”

The incident renewed calls to improve tennis’ officiating system, with figures like Andy Roddick, Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic and more weighing in online. The controversy generated headlines around the world, but in the locker room Draper says it’s been business as usual.

“It’s very easy to see on the slow-mo replay from the side of the court that, in that situation, it was an illegal shot. But anyone knows who’s playing the game out there (knows) it’s not always easy in that situation to actually know what happened,” Draper explained.

“There’s obviously a lot of players saying, I would have done this or I would have done that. It was just one of those situations where I didn’t know. So I did what I had to do.

“I don’t think any of the players in the locker room necessarily have any feelings toward it. It always seems like a big thing on Twitter, but at the end of the day everyone is focused on their own lives and no one really cares.”

At the US Open, where an expanded system for video reviews now allows Draper to challenge incidentals like this, the No. 25 seed is feeling right at home, and eager to rack up more wins at his most successful Grand Slam.

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Draper is on course for a rematch with 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz in the next round, should the Spaniard advance past Botic van de Zandschulp. He trails 1-2 in their head-to-head record, with Draper toppling the eventual Wimbledon champion during a tune-up event at Queens’ Club.

“I’ve played him a couple of times on hard courts, and it's a different ballgame,” Draper said in an on-court interview on Thursday.

“If I do play him, I’ll be expecting a very different Carlos Alcaraz out there than the one I played in Queens’ Club. But I’m looking forward to that battle.”