US Open 2023 results: Katie Boulter and Jack Draper win in New York
Written by I Dig SportsKatie Boulter and Jack Draper reached the US Open third round as they began another action-packed day for the British contingent with superb wins.
Boulter, who is Britain's top women's player, maintained confidence and composure to fight back against China's Wang Yafan in a 5-7 6-1 6-4 win.
Draper put his injury problems behind him with a statement 6-2 6-4 7-5 win over Polish 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Andy Murray, Jodie Burrage, Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie also play.
Murray, 36, plays long-time rival Grigor Dimitrov in the first match of the day on Arthur Ashe Stadium, while 24-year-old Burrage takes on Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Later in the second round on Thursday, British men's number one Norrie faces Taiwanese qualifier Hsu Yu-hsiou and Evans meets Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Boulter proud after 'digging deep' to reach third round
Reaching the US Open third round for the first time is the latest success for 27-year-old Boulter in a stellar season.
It has taken her time to rebuild confidence and regain her ranking since dropping out of the world's top 100 as a result of a back injury which derailed her career in 2019.
But she has climbed to a career-high ranking this year on the back of winning her first WTA title in Nottingham and reaching the Wimbledon third round.
Now she has matched her Wimbledon performance at the hard-court Grand Slam in New York, having never previously won a main-draw match there.
"I'm super happy, I'm really proud of myself. I had to dig really deep," world number 61 Boulter said.
"I had to battle and go for it at the same time. Tactically, I was trying to be very aggressive, I got a bit tight in the first set and managed to loosen up in the second.
"I found ways to win points and it made it a little bit easier for me.
Like in her opening win against France's Diane Parry, Boulter took time to find her rhythm and range against qualifier Wang.
Wang, 29, took a break from the sport last year but has returned with renewed vigour and came into the match on an 11-match winning streak.
Beating French seventh seed Caroline Garcia in the first round further demonstrated her pedigree, but the Briton quickly started to get on top in the first set.
Boulter was unable to take three set points on Wang's serve at 5-4 and paid the price as her opponent swung the opener her way.
But the Briton responded in style. Finding some bigger hitting, she broke serve three times to quickly level and finished the stronger in a tight decider.
Boulter's reward is a meeting with American world number 59 Peyton Stearns on Saturday.