Alex de Minaur said retiring from his quarter-final clash with Jack Draper “never crossed my mind” despite being clearly hampered by injury at the US Open.

Draper, the 25th seed, needed just over two hours to down the Australian in the quarter-finals, winning 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 to become the first man since 2020 to reach the final four at the US Open without dropping a set.

The Aussie’s movement was clearly compromised but he did not confirm he was still hampered by the injury that forced him to pull out of his Wimbledon quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.

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He suffered the hip problem late in the fourth round at the All England Club yet did not reference the issue during his press conference on Thursday, where he told reporters post-match he never considered quitting.

“Stopping didn’t cross my mind at any stage. It’s not part of me, part of my DNA. I don’t like it, if I’m honest. I’m always going to give my best,” he said.

“And look, it could have been naive of me, but I genuinely thought that there was a chance even in that last game going in. I thought that there was a chance that I was going to, change the match around and go out there and win it.

“So at every stage in that match, I gave myself a shot, with my attitude, with my mindset, to go out there. I had some chances, as well, that … if I would have taken them, then maybe I would still be on court right now.

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“So retiring, that’s not part of me. I think over my career, you’ll very rarely witness that.”

De Minaur said Draper’s tactics made it all the more difficult to stay on top of each point.

“I just want to say I’m very proud of myself, of what I have achieved, all things considering, doing everything I could to be in this position. Today it wasn’t meant to be, but I’m proud of my efforts,” he said.

“Jack is never easy to play in the best of times, and the way he can spread the court, being a lefty and really move you around the court, it takes a toll on the body. (The) accumulation of matches takes a toll, as well.

“But he played well. He deserves the win. He moved me around the court and served great. In the few chances that I had, I wasn’t able to execute.”

The Brit relied on his serve that reached 205km/h to set up some of his 40 winners in the match, and he broke the 10th-seeded de Minaur’s serve six times. He also smashed 11 aces.

Draper is the first British man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray won the title in 2012.

The pivotal moment came in the second set, when both players exchanged breaks before Draper took a 6-5 lead and took the set. He then nabbed a double break in the third, forcing de Minaur to defend 20 break points throughout the match, securing 14 of them.

The Australian had never come back from two sets down to win in five sets, and Draper dominated the third set, grabbing a double break and holding it, to qualify for his first grand slam semi-final.

He will play the winner of Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev next.

Medvedev was the last man to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set, the year before he won the 2021 title.

“It’s amazing, my first match on the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true,” Draper said during his interview on-court with Brad Gilbert.

“I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I have in a long time, that’s where Alex has got me in the past. And I think he was struggling physically with something today, which may have helped me.

“But credit to Alex he’s an amazing fighter and an unbelievable player and we’re going to have many more battles to come.”

Draper said he will tune in to watch the Sinner v Medvedev clash later in the night session.

Draper leads Sinner 1-0 in head to head clashes but that was three years ago. He lost to Medvedev on clay in Rome earlier this year.

“I’m a huge sports fan and a big tennis fan so, I’ll definitely be watching the match tonight if it doesn’t go too late, enjoy the win and relax.”

Earlier, Karolina Muchova got back to the US Open semi-finals for the second straight year, punctuating her return from wrist surgery by beating No.22 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4.

Muchova lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semis in Flushing Meadows, then missed nearly 10 months because of a wrist injury she suffered during the tournament.

The Czech returned to action in June just before Wimbledon, and a little more than two months later she is into her fourth career grand slam semi-final.

“Game-wise, I think every match here I feel better on court and that for sure helps,” Muchova said. “More matches and getting through that experience on the court again, that helps a lot as well to be more confident and feel my shots.”

Muchova will face top-seeded Iga Swiatek or No.6 Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, the No.2 seed, faces first-time grand slam semi-finalist Emma Navarro in the other semi.

Muchova dominated the first set, racing to a 5-0 lead and finishing it off in 35 minutes. Then it became a test in the second, with both players struggling physically on a sunny afternoon.

Muchova left the court at one point for what she said was a needed trip to the bathroom, while Haddad Maia appeared to be pointing to her chest and trying to breathe deeply midway through the set before burying her head in a towel as trainers attended to her.

Muchova has had to get used to dealing with pain.

She had just made her second major semi-final of 2023, having lost to Swiatek in the French Open final, when she had to stop playing following the US Open. When she finally got back to the tour this year, it left time for only 11 matches before returning to Flushing Meadows.

That was enough time for Muchova to rediscover her game. She hasn’t dropped a set in her five matches and finished off this one with an ace down the middle.

Muchova, who missed most of the first half of the 2022 season because of back, abdominal and ankle problems, said she didn’t like to talk about her injuries.

“I’ve been through a lot of them,” the 28-year-old said. “Yeah, this last one, the wrist surgery, was one of the worst ones that I had. Now looking back, I’m, like, ‘Oh, it actually flew by, the time, and I feel strong again.'”

– with AP