Making his third consecutive career appearance at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, 13th seed Jack Draper secured his spot in the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open as he powered past world No. 4 Taylor Fritz in 78 minutes on Wednesday.
In his on-court interview, he commented: “I felt great. It is the best match I have played here so far in the three years I have been here.
“I was happy with the way I was sharp. I moved great and competed well,” he added.
“Taylor is such an amazing player, so to come through in the way I did, I am very proud of that.”
Next, he will face 11th seed Ben Shelton, who earlier in the day defeated countryman Brandon Nakashima 7-6, 6-1, advancing to the last eight in the desert for the first time.
The round of 16 contest set off with both players managing to reel off comfortable holds of serve.
The parity between them was such that at 3-3, each had only dropped three points behind their service.
As the opening set wore on, there were moments of brilliance at the net, with the players rallying, meaning business.
In the 11th game, Draper dug deep, winning eight out of nine points before converting a clinical break with his backhand-forcing shot to jump ahead 6-5.
Unbothered, the British No. 1 racquet moved on to serve out for the first set 7-5 in 39 minutes.
As the second set kickstarted, the American strived to get his first serve going again, while on the other side of the court, his opponent showcased great confidence in his game plan and the ability to execute it.
The Brit found breathing room for a second straight break, firing an ace to take the early advantage, and despite committing his first double fault, he succeeded in extending his lead to 2-0.
Unable to stop Draper’s lethal combination of depth and power, Fritz found himself a set and a double break down.
At 0-3 down, the third seed was already facing an uphill battle to keep his chances alive when the two-time ATP titlist held his ground flawlessly to extend his advantage to 4-0.
In control of the match, the 13th seed displayed his skillset, generating power on his forehand while excelling on the return.
The Sutton native served for the match at 5-2, but the home hope hit another gear, breaking the 23-year-old in the first of two attempts he had, backing it up with a hold, narrowing the gap 4-5.
The world No. 4 held his nerve to face the late challenge posed by his rival, hitting two aces before wrapping up the second set 6-4 and the match with a statement of world-class performance to book his spot at the Indian Wells quarterfinals.
Draper hit 24 winners against 17 unforced errors to Fritz’s 19 and 19, respectively.
Moreover, he won 91 percent of the points on his first serve, converted three of four break points, winning 8 of 8 net approaches.
Thus far, he maintains a perfect record at Tennis Paradise, yet to drop a set all week.
His run to the fourth round in Indian Wells features victories over Brazilian rising talent Joao Fonseca, home favorite Jenson Brooksby and the American player.
Meanwhile, the 27-year-old from California moved past Matteo Gigante in his opening match and then overpowered 30th seed Alejandro Tabilo, rallying from a set down to beat the spirited Chilean player, continuing his bid to win a second title in the desert.
The British player and Shelton, his next rival, have never played one another at tour level before.
Speaking about his next opponent, Draper said: “I am very excited for that matchup. He is an amazing young talent like myself and brings such amazing energy to the court and the changing room. He is one of the nicest guys around, so I will really enjoy that matchup, and I am looking forward to competing.”