Jack Draper faces Dominic Thiem in strange scenario after US Open champ loses last set 6-0 | Tennis | Sport

Jack Draper faces another tough test ahead of his US Open debut as he is set to take on 2020 champion Dominic Thiem in Winston-Salem. The Brit downed former top 10 Fabio Fognini while Thiem lost the first set of his clash with Grigor Dimitrov 6-0 before the top seed fell ill and was forced to retire.Draper is enjoying a breakout season, with his most recent accomplishment coming at the Montreal Masters where he upset third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals, having come through qualifying. It was the 20-year-old’s second ATP quarter-final of the season, while he also won four Challenger titles and climbed from No 265 to No 55 in the world so far this season.The British No 4 also boasts wins over top 20 players Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman from the grass season and is now set to take on another big name in former world No 3 Thiem. The pair are set to face off in the third round of the Winston-Salem Open on Monday night after Draper earned another victory against a former top player.As the 13th seed at the ATP 250 event, he received a bye where he faced former world No 9 and nine-time title winner Fognini, beating him 6-2 4-6 6-1 to earn a meeting with Thiem. But things weren’t so straightforward for the 2020 US Open champion, who advanced when his opponent felt unwell and was forced to retire.JUST IN: Rafael Nadal left Daniil Medvedev hurting from ‘scar tissue’The former world No 3 was facing Dimitrov for the seventh time and barely got a look in at the start of the match, as the Bulgarian raced to a 6-0 lead in just 25 minutes. But the world No 19 then started mis-hitting in the second set as he attempted to shorten points and went a break down before he called for medical attention.Dimitrov – another former No 3 in the world – then stepped up to serve at 2-4 but decided to call it quits as he approached the net to shake hands with Thiem, doubling over in pain as he retired the match. He will now face Draper, who reached a new career-high of world No 55 when the rankings updated today.And a meeting with the 17-time title winner will be the perfect preparation for Draper’s US Open debut, as he throws himself in the deep end with a match against the champion from two years ago. The Brit goes into the match as the favourite on paper as he sits well above world No 231 Thiem, and Draper will like his chances given his opponent’s form against Dimitrov.DON’T MISSDjokovic has three options he must choose from as US Open edges closerRaducanu has ‘great sign’ highlighted before ‘insane’ US Open defenceKyrgios subject of defamation case by lawyer kicked out of Wimbledon



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