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Jack Draper says he is in a far better place going into the US Open fourth round than this time last year.
Draper repeated his career-best grand slam performance when he made the second week at Flushing Meadows by beating Carlos Alcaraz’s slayer Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday.
It means he is back in the fourth round for a second successive year, but the British number one was playing through pain in an injury-ravaged 2023.
This year he is physically fit, is playing some of his best tennis and has an ATP Tour title under his belt.
“I feel very different to last year,” he said ahead of Monday’s fourth-round clash with Tomas Machac.
“I think I barely played any tennis in the year, struggling with injuries all the time, and then obviously came here.
“I think I was still sort of very nervous and unsure before matches, whether I would get through this one. ‘Am I going to cramp in this one? Am I going to break down physically in this one, get injured’, or something like this?
“I was still really struggling with the shoulder injury when I played here last year.
“I feel very different now. I’m not waking up every day worried about playing five sets.
“I have so much more confidence in my mind and my body through experiences of playing on the tour now this year consistently.
“So I do feel very different to last year and proud of my progress since then.”
