US Open: Alexander Zverev outlasts Grigor Dimitrov, Jack Draper is the last Brit standing

Before the match, Zverev owned this head-to-head 5-1, with the Bulgarian's sole win coming in 2014—when the German was only 17 years old and ranked outside the world’s Top 100. They'd just met a mere three weeks prior in Cincinnati, where Zverev scored a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Of course, lopsided match-ups mean very little when Dimitrov is playing under the lights at Flushing Meadows; this is the location, after all, where he got his first win over Roger Federer in eight attempts.

And initially, this contest between the two felt different. Zverev consistently picked on his opponent’s backhand, frequently rushing the net to put pressure on the No. 19 seed's weaker shot, which no doubt has given him an advantage in their previous clashes. But the Bulgarian was, in a sense, feeling himself - and finding his backhand down the line. And just like he did against Andy Murray in the second round, Dimitrov showed off his remarkable speed and hung in the extended rallies that are the bread and butter of the Zverev playbook. Ultimately, however, thanks to some strong serving, neither player could gain a real foothold in the other's service games, leading to a tiebreak.

It was in the tiebreak that Dimitrov brought his best. The first five points featured a 25-shot rally, a 24-shot rally, an 11-shot rally, and a 13-shot rally. The 2019 US Open semifinalist won all four, and captured the fifth by passing Zverev at the net with a backhand winner. (That slacker point only featured six shots.) He took a 5-0 lead, and eventually claimed the first set on an unreturned serve.

Dimitrov was first to break in the second, somehow reactively lobbing back a ball Zverev hit at full force by the net. But Dimitrov's flashy shotmaking had to fall back to earth at some point, and Zverev took advantage of some unforced errors to break back. They headed to a second set tiebreak that, while featuring less gruelling rallies, was markedly more dramatic than the first, lasting 18 points. Both players saved set points, but Zverev was just that much more solid, particularly on his first serve. He levelled the match on his second opportunity.

Perhaps due to the amount of time he’d spent on court during the first week—and the amount of energy he'd expended in the first two sets—Dimitrov moved with less spring in the third. He claimed just 31% of his first serve points, and Zverev raced out to a quick 4-0 lead and took a two-set advantage in a quick and tidy 28 minutes. Dimitrov called for the trainer and took a medical timeout off-court. When he came back, he still couldn’t summon his form from the first two sets and seemed to be struggling with some kind of physical issue. Zverev again broke early and was never seriously challenged on his own serve going forward.

Meanwhile, Jack Draper became the last British player standing when has reached the second week of a grand slam for the first time after beating American Michael Mmoh in the third round of the US Open.

The British number four silenced the home crowd with a gritty display in a 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory.

The Grandstand court at Flushing Meadows is an intimidating place for an overseas player taking on an American, but Draper had almost emptied it when he went 2-0 ahead.

Mmoh, ranked 89 in the world, hit back in the third, but Draper dug deep to break for 4-2 in the fourth before clinching a huge win.

Grandstand is also the court which Draper hurt his hamstring a year ago in his third-round match against Karen Khachanov, forcing him to retire.

The 21-year-old has been beset by injuries ever since and was a doubt to even play in New York due to a tear in his shoulder.

Yet Draper, serving with less vim than usual in a bid to manage the problem, still thumped 52 winners to surge into the last 16.

He said: "I was thinking that on the court today it’s like Groundhog Day out there. I think it was exactly one year on. Last year I was playing Khachanov, and I felt like when I was playing him I was so tired. I was sort of carrying a bit of an injury. I’m so proud of the work that I've put in the last year.

"Even though I haven’t been able to compete too much, I generally think I’m a much better player and better all-around athlete, as well.

"To come here a year on, despite maybe my ranking having dropped a fair bit because of the injuries and not being able to be on the same confidence level that I was last year, you know, I'm incredibly proud of that and hopefully I can keep going this week."

British number one Cameron Norrie tumbled out after a straight-sets defeat to Matteo Arnaldi.

An out-of-sorts Norrie, the 16th seed, was beaten 6-3 6-4 6-3 by the Italian world number 61

"I actually think I started well," he said. "I was hitting the ball really well all week but I didn’t have the shot tolerance to hang with him.

"He was really crafty and won a lot of tough points so credit to him."