Jack Draper was almost in tears after learning he may have to miss the US Open, but now the 21-year-old British hope is in the third round.

Draper, who last year was ranked as high as 38 in the world, 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 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?

“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.”

Draper will face American Michael Mmoh as he bids to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time.

“It’s weird how sort of this sport works,” he added. “Sometimes you can be at your lowest point and then all of a sudden you get on a bit of form and you’re playing great and your body feels good.

“Hopefully, touch wood, this is going to be the start of something.”

Andy Murray bowed out of the US Open after a dispiriting defeat to his old rival Grigor Dimitrov.

In the 12th meeting between two veterans of the sport, and seven years after their last one, 19th seed Dimitrov registered only his fourth win over the Scot.

Murray wilted inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the court upon which he won his first grand slam title in 2012, as he slipped to a 6-3 6-4 6-1 defeat.

A ding-dong of a first set, including two brutal 15-minute games, was poised at 3-3 with almost an hour played and the match was shaping up to be another Murray marathon.

Murray had lost eight points in a row to slip behind but hit back after an astonishing get from a 36-year-old with a metal hip, retrieving a net cord by deftly angling the ball away from Dimitrov.

He continued his run past the net post and into Dimitrov’s side of the court, where the Bulgarian clapped his opponent before both tapped rackets.

That was where the niceties ended, though, and Murray’s hopes quickly went south.

He came up with an absolute stinker of a service game, two double-faults and two unforced errors gifting Dimitrov the set and the momentum.

Murray was broken again at the start of the second and his shoulders slumped even further when his solitary chance to break back drifted wide.

The constant chuntering to his team was getting less and less cordial and, at 4-1 down in the third, he gestured to them that the match was over as a contest.

The former world number one was proved to be right two games later as another attempt to challenge in the later rounds of a grand slam fell well short.

British number one Katie Boulter came from a set down to secure a place in the third round of the US Open for the first time.

The 27-year-old matched her run at Wimbledon this summer after a gutsy 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory over China’s in-form Wang Yafan.

Wang was on an 11-match winning streak, including beating seventh seed Caroline Garcia in the first round, but she was outlasted by Boulter in the New York heat.

In a tight first set, Boulter retrieved an early break, was given a warning for angrily swatting the ball away and had three set points on the Wang serve.

But she was unable to convert any of them and Wang promptly broke to wrap up the set.

However Boulter, from Leicester, cleared her head impressively and dominated the second set to level the match.

Having broken again for 5-4 in the decider she suffered a horrible wobble, throwing in two double faults in the first three points.

But once again Boulter recovered her composure and wrapped up a fine win when Wang hit the net.

Boulter will face 21-year-old American Peyton Stearns, the world number 59, in what looks a very favourable draw, for a place in the last 16.

Novak Djokovic is safely into the third round, but there were a couple of big shocks on day three of the US Open.

Seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out in five sets by Dominic Stricker, a qualifier ranked 128 in the world.

Then, in the night session, fifth seed and last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud fell foul of China’s world number 67 Zhang Zhizhen.

British qualifier Lily Miyakazi’s run came to and end in the second round.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day three at Flushing Meadows.

Pic of the dayShock of the day

Chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset at the US Open by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The chubby-cheeked 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with a 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.

The former French Open junior champion recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies.

Yet it was Athens-born Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.

Brit watch

Miyazaki’s US Open adventure was ended in the second round by Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

The 27-year-old came through three matches to qualify at Flushing Meadows for the first time and then picked up a maiden grand slam win against Margarita Betova in round one.

But the world number 198 found 15th seed Bencic, of Switzerland, too tough a nut to crack as she bowed out 6-3 6-3.

Miyazaki still leaves New York with the consolation prize of having virtually doubled her earnings for the year with a £98,000 pay day for winning her first-round match.

There were victories in the doubles for Jamie Murray, with Michael Venus, Joe Salisbury alongside partner Rajeev Ram, Lloyd Glasspool with Harri Heliovaara. and British pair Julian Cash and Henry Patten.

Quote of the dayFallen seeds:

Women: Petra Kvitova (11), Victoria Azarenka (18), Beatriz Haddad Maia (19), Magda Linette (24)
Men: Casper Ruud (5), Stefanos Tsitsipas (7), Francisco Cerundolo (20), Chris Eubanks (28).

Who’s up next?

Andy Murray kicks things off on Arthur Ashe against Bulgarian ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov. Fellow Brits Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter are also in action along with Jodie Burrage, who faces the match of her life against second seed Aryna Sabalenka on Louis Armstrong.

Chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset at the US Open by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.

Stricker is a former French Open junior champion who recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies but it was Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.

“You know, I came out today pretty well today and felt good from the first set,” said Stricker.

“Over four hours it was a tough battle and I’m just super happy right now. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day and recover tomorrow.

“It’s such a great day for me and such a great win. It gives me a lot of confidence. I believe a lot in me now.”

Remarkably, Stricker could have been on the plane back to Bern last week having faced a match point in the second round of qualifying.

He has now achieved his best result at a grand slam, having bettered his run to the second round at Wimbledon earlier this summer.

Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, and the Greek said: “That hasn’t happened to me before. It’s the first time for me.

“Usually I’m much tougher mentally, and I have shown it by coming back. Even though sometimes I get broken serving for the match, let’s say, I still find ways in the tie-break or perhaps in the fifth set. Today was not the case.”

Second seed Novak Djokovic is safely through to round three after demolishing Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

The Serbian, chasing a 24th grand slam title, dropped just six games in a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory.

The original teenage star beat the new kid on the block as Coco Gauff knocked 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva out of the US Open.

Gauff, who burst onto the scene when she beat Venus Williams on her way to the fourth round at Wimbledon aged 15, ousted the Russian rookie 6-3 6-2.

The sixth seed, still only 19, had to come from behind to beat Laura Siegemund in a drama-filled three-setter on Monday, but she had a far more gentle work-out this time on Arthur Ashe.

Gauff is fast becoming a live contender for the title this year having won 13 of her 14 matches since losing in the Wimbledon first round to fellow American Sofia Kenin.

She lost a first-set tie-break against Andreeva at this year’s French Open but came back to win in three.

Gauff said: “I just learned then to be aggressive, because if you give her something she is going to take advantage.

“She has a great future in front of her – I think she is going to be back on this stage many more times.”

There was another home success in New York when Taylor Townsend beat Brazilian 19th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (1) 7-5.

Lily Miyazaki’s US Open adventure was ended in the second round by Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

The 27-year-old came through three matches to qualify at Flushing Meadows for the first time and then picked up a maiden grand slam win against Margarita Betova in round one.

But the world number 198 found 15th seed Bencic, of Switzerland, too tough a nut to crack as she bowed out 6-3 6-3.

Miyazaki still leaves New York with the consolation prize of having virtually doubled her earnings for the year with a £98,000 pay day for winning her first-round match.

A break early in the first set and two in the second set proved her undoing, although she did break the Bencic serve late on, prompting the 26-year-old to fling her racket to the ground.

But ultimately Bencic, a former semi-finalist, was too strong for the Tokyo-born debutant and broke again to seal the victory.

Miyazaki was supported once more by fellow Brit Jodie Burrage, who faces world number two Aryna Sabalenka in her second-round match on Thursday.

Burrage, who beat Anna Blinkova in straight sets on Tuesday night, said: “It’s a massive match. Probably one of the biggest ones I would have played in my career.

“But I’ll go out there and enjoy it like I always do. I’ll take the confidence from the matches I played this week and the last few weeks and months. Like everything, it’s lessons I’ve been learning from.”

Burrage feels her run here and to the second round at Wimbledon have earned her the respect of her peers in the locker room.

“I hope so. I hope that’s the reputation I’m getting,” she added.

“A few more of the girls, I start hitting with them, then you know them a little bit more. In the locker room, as well, it really is a place where you can chat to people and get to know people a little bit more.

“I’ve been speaking to Jessie Pegula a little bit because she’s in my bit of the locker room. Mostly we’re talking about the adidas outfit, what we’re wearing. Those little things start the conversations.

“But, yeah, hopefully they are building respect for me and finding who I am out as a player – hopefully not too soon because I think that surprise is helping me at the moment.”

British number one Katie Boulter has a big chance to move into the third round as she takes on Chinese world number 114 Wang Yafan.

Carlos Alcaraz had mixed emotions after being gifted a route into the second round of the US Open because his opponent retired injured.

Dominik Koepfer rolled his ankle in the opening game of the match and needed a medical time out to have it heavily bandaged.

He valiantly carried on, at one point telling the chair umpire: “I’m trying not to retire after 20 minutes because of freaking 20,000 people in the stadium.”

But the 29-year-old was clearly in a lot of pain and called it a night with Alcaraz leading 6-2 3-2.

Defending champion Alcaraz said: “Obviously I want to play battles. I want to play the full matches. This is not the best way to win a match.

“But obviously, playing the night session, I’m happy to come back early, have some rest. Well, a little bit more than I expect before starting the match.

“It’s going to be better for me to recover into the next round.”

Alcaraz’s new sleeveless look drew more comparisons with his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal and his US Open victory in 2019.

“I was thinking about Rafa when he wore that. He won that US Open, right?” added the 20-year-old.

“I love to wear that sometimes in some specific tournaments. Here in the US Open, I was supposed to play last year. This year it’s a good, good outfit, so I love it.”

Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, dropped just two games as he rolled over 34-year-old Hungarian Attila Balazs.

Alexander Zverev, the runner-up in 2020, is also through to the second round with a straight-sets win over Australian Aleksandar Vukic.

All six British players reached the second round at the US Open on a spectacular day for British tennis.

Andy Murray made it through after beating fiery Frenchman Corentin Moutet in straight sets.

The Scot was joined in round two by Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage, making at a magnificent seven after Lily Miyazaki’s win on Monday.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is through after Dominik Koepfer retired injured in the second set, while Venus Williams’ 24th US Open ended abruptly with a 6-1 6-1 defeat by Greet Minnen.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at day two at Flushing Meadows.

Pic of the day

Any chance Dominik Koepfer had of beating Carlos Alcaraz ended when he suffered an ankle injury.

Match of the day

Grigor Dimitrov, the 19th seed, came from two sets down and saved three match points, including two in a final-set tie-break, to beat Alex Molcan in a four-and-a-half hour marathon. His reward? A second-round meeting with Murray.

Stat of the dayQuote of the dayBungle of the day

A VAR system to check for incidents such as a double-bounce or hindrance has been introduced this year. But when it was used for the first time, when Moutet challenged a double-bounce call, it did not work properly and proved inconclusive, rather embarrassingly for organisers. Yellow card, surely?

Fallen seeds

Men: Karen Khachanov (11), Tallon Griekspoor (24), Ugo Humbert (29).

Women: Caroline Garcia (7), Donna Vekic (21).

Who’s up next?

Britain’s Lily Miyazaki faces a tough second-round assignment against the 15th seed and current Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.

Venus Williams’ 24th US Open was brought to an abrupt end inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night.

The two-time winner, handed a wild card at the age of 43, was beaten 6-1 6-1 in the first round by Belgian Greet Minnen.

The American said: “I have to give credit to my opponent, there wasn’t a shot she couldn’t make.

“I don’t think I played badly, it was just one of those days where I was unlucky.

“I was really happy to be here. I love playing here and I really gave it my all today.”

Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur had to overcome breathing difficulties to battle past Columbia’s Camila Osorio.

The Tunisian had her blood pressure checked at one point before securing a 7-5 7-6 (4) victory.

France’s Caroline Garcia, seeded seven, suffered a shock exit, 6-4 6-1, to world number 114 Wang Yafan of China.

Canadian Laylah Fernandez, the runner-up to Emma Raducanu two years ago, lost in three sets to Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Andy Murray won his 200th grand slam match with a three-set victory over fiery Frenchman Corentin Moutet at the US Open.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, a winner here in 2012, overcame an unorthodox and awkward opponent 6-2 7-5 6-3 to become the eighth male player in the Open era to reach the double-century.

It may have been a straight-sets win but, typically with Murray, there was plenty of drama and even a VAR controversy, the first of its kind at Flushing Meadows.

Murray, who came into the event having recovered from an abdominal tear, dominated the first set but a flat passage of play saw him fall a break down in the second as Moutet, all slices and drop shots, began to impose himself.

However, Murray had a let-off when Moutet double-faulted on set point, and then a lucky net cord helped the Scot break back.

Murray was back in full irritant mode and it got to Moutet, who smashed his racket on the floor, twice, as the second set got away from him.

Moutet suffered a nasty fall on the baseline, landing on his racket hand, but was able to continue and saved four break points in his next service game.

But Murray struck at the next opportunity and served out for victory – following a video replay check for a double-bounce which, embarrassingly for organisers who introduced it this year, proved inconclusive – in just under three hours.

“He’s one of the most skilful players on the tour, with so many ways to disrupt you, and he always causes a little bit of chaos,” said the 36-year-old.

“I hope it was entertaining, there were some fun points, so I’m happy to get through in straight sets.

“It was a long one, but the way we play it was probably always going to be like that. Three hours is a lot shorter than some of my matches!”

Andy Murray has become the eighth man to register 200 grand slam victories in the Open era.

The 36-year-old reached the milestone following his latest win over France’s Corentin Moutet in the US Open first round.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at Murray’s career record at tennis’s biggest tournaments.

Elite club

Murray has joined an illustrious list by reaching 200 grand slam wins, headed by his three main career rivals in Roger Federer (369), Novak Djokovic (355) and Rafael Nadal (314).

That trio are more than 80 wins clear of anyone else, with Jimmy Connors in fourth (233), ahead of Andre Agassi (224) and Murray’s coach Ivan Lendl (222).

The Scot is just three wins behind Pete Sampras (203) in seventh and will move above the 14-time major champion with a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open.

Tim Henman is his closest challenger among British players, with 98 grand slam victories.

Home comforts

Murray has been most successful on the grass courts of Wimbledon, with 61 wins out of 74 matches yielding two titles.

He has consistently risen to the occasion on home soil, reaching 10 successive SW19 quarter-finals between 2008 and 2017, and has often spoken about how he enjoys the support of the crowd.

However, the 36-year-old also thrives when playing the role of pantomime villain and has a remarkable record of 18 victories from 19 matches against homegrown players in the Australian, French and US Opens.

Overall, he has 49 victories in New York – the scene of his first major triumph in 2012 – to go with 51 in Melbourne (where he is a five-time runner-up) and 39 at Roland Garros.

Near misses

Murray’s career record at grand slams suggests that he should have more than three titles to his name.

He has a winning record at each stage of major tournaments apart from the final, where he has won three and lost eight of his 11 matches.

Murray has had the privilege and misfortune of playing in a golden era of men’s tennis, with all but one of his finals having been played against Federer or Djokovic.

In total, he has won five and lost 20 of his grand slam meetings with the ‘Big Three’, with eight defeats coming against Djokovic, seven versus Nadal and five at the hands of Federer.

This compares with 195 wins and 34 losses against his remaining 137 opponents.

Stan Wawrinka, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Fernando Verdasco and Roberto Bautista Agut are the only other players to have beaten Murray more than once at grand slam level.

The Scot’s best record is against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who he has faced five times without defeat.

Injury nightmare

Murray would almost certainly have passed 250 grand slam wins had it not been for a career threatening hip injury.

Shortly after turning 30, Murray – ranked number one in the world at the time – lost to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2017 and proceeded to sit out the next four grand slams while recovering from surgery.

He had won at least 12 grand slam matches every year in the previous decade, but has managed only 12 in total since the start of 2018.

By comparison, Djokovic – who is just a week younger than Murray – has won 118 matches and lifted 11 titles in the same period.

Despite injury curtailing his prime years, the Scot has continued to show his indomitable fighting spirit.

Eight of his 23 major matches since 2018 have gone to five sets, with Murray emerging victorious on five of those occasions.

Two of his deciding-set wins came back-to-back at this year’s Australian Open, when he followed up a four-hour 49-minute victory over Matteo Berrettini with a staggering comeback from two sets down against Thanasi Kokkinakis in a match that finished at 4am local time.

Cameron Norrie turned to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to help him into the second round at the US Open.

The British number one practised with the world number one on Monday before dismantling Alexander Shevchenko of Russia 6-3 6-2 6-2.

It was just the sort of performance Norrie needed after losing his previous three matches on the hard courts.

And the 16th seed credited Spanish superstar Alcaraz for his improved display.

“We had a really good practice and I think it really set the tone yesterday and I was able to put it into my match today,” he said.

“He’s always enjoying the practice and bringing a lot of flair and excitement to the practice court.

“It was not an easy match. Shevchenko has had a good year so far. I know his game quite well, I’d practiced with him a few times.

“I was able to play longer points and win some of the tough games. It was a nice match to play in the first round to get a lot of rhythm.”

Norrie will face qualifier Yu Hsiou Hsu, the world number 237, in round two after his surprise win over Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Katie Boulter says she is feeling the love in New York after securing a first-career win at the US Open.

The British number one certainly looked at home on a packed Court Six at Flushing Meadows as she raced past France’s Diane Parry 6-4 6-0.

Boulter hit 31 winners and illustrated her confidence on the big stage by saving a break point as she served for the match, before finishing Parry off with a 106mph ace.

“I felt the love out there today, which was really, really nice,” said the 27-year-old.

“It was such a good atmosphere. What I love about it the most is those front courts where they have all the matches going along all the time.

“It’s a challenge for me to focus and stay in the moment, and not hear all the other courts going on, which is what I did unbelievably well today.

“The fans got me over the line. I don’t know if they were British, American. I think they were everything, which was super nice.

“There were a lot of GB flags, which made me feel very at home, which was very nice.

“I did appreciate it out there. You know, it’s when you hear, like, little kids screaming your name, that’s when it pushes you. It makes you think for a second, ‘hey, this is where I want to be and these are the matches that I want to play’.”

British number one Katie Boulter roared to a first-round win at the US Open with a commanding victory over Diane Parry.

The 27-year-old hit 31 winners in a hugely impressive, efficient display to win 6-4 6-0 in an hour and 22 minutes.

Boulter illustrated her confidence on the big stage by saving a break point as she served for the match, before finishing Frenchwoman Parry off with a 106mph ace.

“It was tight in the first set and I just tried to stay with her, but at the end I played some great tennis which is good for me going into the second round,” she said.

“It’s so good for me.

“This is where it really counts and I’m happy to get through and keep pushing.”