Murray was already the world No 4 at Draper’s age, but the Scot’s successor at the top of British men’s tennis is gathering pace and showing signs of grand-slam winning quality at the US Open

It was a strange match. Word that de Minaur had cut his practice short because of a lack of fitness was all over the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. The Australian withdrew from Wimbledon at the quarterfinal stage because of a nasty looking hip injury, and hadn’t been expected to play this event at all, let alone make the quarterfinals.