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Jack Draper moves on from cheating row with serene progress into US Open second round

British No 1 overpowers Zhang Zhizhen in New York to help get over emotional turmoil he suffered after social-media storm

A relieved Jack Draper put the cheating storm that tainted his run at the Cincinnati Open behind him by sweeping into the second round of the US Open.
‌The British No 1 proved too much for Zhang Zhizhen, his Chinese counterpart, who was hampered by a knee injury and never in the contest before giving up when Draper led 6-3, 6-0, 4-0.
‌Draper’s preparations for his campaign at Flushing Meadows had been overshadowed by accusations of cheating in his controversial victory over Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime almost a fortnight ago. On match point, he had unwittingly hit a ball into the ground and then over the net. When Auger-Aliassime protested, chair umpire Greg Allensworth ruled the shot to be fair, and there was no replay technology available.
‌Draper found himself at the centre of a social-media storm following the incident, with the 22-year-old later revealing that he was unable to think about anything else for four days.
‌This meeting with an ailing Zhang offered an encouraging return to the match court, especially as Draper – who could potentially play reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the third round – was able to conserve energy in hot conditions.
‌“It was a bit of a storm last week,” said Draper. “I played three tough matches there [at Cincinnati] and then obviously in the match against Holger [Rune, which came the day after the incident], I wasn’t all there. I was not only physically tired, but a bit mentally sort of bamboozled by the night before.
‌“It definitely took a few days to sort of physically recover from that weekend, mentally and emotionally. In the last couple of days, I feel like I’ve sort of freshened up and my mindset in competing here. I think today, I know he [Zhang] got injured and stuff, but I was ready to play my best tennis out there. I felt really, really good about myself.”
Bagel in the second for Draper 🥯The Brit leads 6-3, 6-0 against Zhang 💪 pic.twitter.com/pvmdWTSrtT
‌Expanding on the emotional turmoil that engulfed him in the wake of his victory over Auger-Aliassime, Draper added: “When you’re getting comments about cheating, lying and all those sorts of things it’s difficult, and it plays on your mind.
‌“It was a good experience to sort of have those emotions and have those feelings, and have to almost sort of block it out and focus on what’s important. Definitely the last couple of days, just getting rid of that, those feelings and sort of moving on.”
‌Asked how much time he spends on social media, Draper replied, “I feel like I have a healthy balance with it”, but also admitted that he – like every other professional tennis player – receives a lot of toxic messages from disappointed betters.
‌“I think my first pro match in 2018, I won 6-0, 6-0 and I was a horrible person. They were gonna find my mum. If I lose a match these days, just go on my Instagram account, you’ll probably see about 100 messages with clown emojis and snakes.
‌“You can’t control it, and I think the girls get it way worse than the guys. I think social media is an amazing tool for players. It’s great that we can interact with fans, with each other, and all that sort of thing. But you kind of realise it’s not all good, and so you’ve got to stay off it when and where possible.”
‌Draper was in a dominant mood as he breezed into the second round at Flushing Meadows with an emphatic performance over an ailing Zhang, who runs the risk of being fined amid questions over his match fitness. Tournament regulations state that players must declare themselves fully fit before a match to minimise the possibility of a retirement.
‌“There was maybe a 10 per cent problem with whatever it was that he was feeling,” said Draper of the early stages of the match. “Then, when I broke him in the second game of the second set, it was clear that his movements started to slow down a lot.”

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