Draper, seeded 15th, called a halt to the match when trailing 7-5 6-1 against four-time major champion Alcaraz on a hot day in Melbourne.

The 23-year-old left-hander, who came into the tournament with a hip injury, needed treatment off the court after the first set before abandoning the contest when the second quickly slipped away.

He held both hands up to the crowd by way of an apology before going off Rod Laver Arena to a warm ovation.

Draper, who came through three gruelling five-set matches to reach the fourth round, was the only Briton to reach the last 16 of the men’s or women’s singles.

“After how much I have played, I didn’t pull up amazingly well,” said Draper.

Before this Australian Open campaign, he had not played competitively since the end of October.

“I was really, really sore after I played my last match because I have been managing this hip thing,” Draper said.

“I wasn’t expecting to come this far in all honesty. With all the hours I have played, it has been a bit too much on my body.”

Alcaraz, 21, was far from his best during their contest but continues his bid to become the youngest man in the Open era to complete the career Grand Slam.

The reigning back-to-back Wimbledon champion, who also won the 2022 US Open and 2024 French Open, will face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Serbia’s Djokovic, aiming for a record-extending 11th men’s singles title in Australia, beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) later on Sunday.

Draper’s injury a ‘ticking time bomb’

There were understandable doubts about Draper’s condition coming into Sunday’s match, after being taken all the way by Mariano Navone, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Vukic.

Outlasting each opponent had already provided a sense of satisfaction for Draper, given questions had understandably been raised about his durability.

But, considering such a workload after an injury-disrupted off-season, it felt as though beating Alcaraz would be a step too far at Melbourne Park.

Draper planned to “sleep and eat a lot” on Saturday after seeing out victory over Australia’s Vukic at almost 1am local time, and still being on site at close to 2:30am to fulfil his post-match commitments.

He was not listed on Saturday’s practice schedule after those late-night exertions.

His energy-sapping efforts in the early rounds meant playing in the height of the Melbourne heat – with temperatures about 34C – was also not ideal against a player with the athleticism and intensity of Alcaraz.

Draper did not seem to be moving too quickly and was kicking out his left leg early in the first set.

Although he managed to continue after a lengthy medical timeout, he decided at the end of a one-sided second set there was no point in further aggravating the problem.

“It was not ideal to end this way,” said Draper, who explained his tournament preparations began only 10 days before his opening match.

“From the third game, I felt I had multiple areas that were really in pain – especially the hip.”

Asked if he considered not playing at all, he added: “We were managing it. I didn’t feel amazing before my last match, but obviously got out there and it felt OK.

“Maybe it’s a little bit of a ticking time bomb, considering I had no preparation and no work for my body.”

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Carlos Alcaraz wrote a message to Jack Draper on a TV camera after the Briton’s retirement

Alcaraz still not quite a ‘servebot’

Landing the Australian Open title this year would mean Alcaraz beats a record set by his idol Rafael Nadal, who was 24 in 2010 when he became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

To help him do that, and take his level to newer heights, the young Spaniard has remodelled his serve.

After hitting 14 aces in his second-round match, Alcaraz joked he had become a “servebot” – a player who crushes opponents with the strength of their opening shot.

Against Draper, it was clear his serve is still a work in progress.

Alcaraz’s first-serve percentage was well down at 40% after five games, and two double faults in the fifth game helped Draper hold two break points which the Briton could not take.

That felt pivotal as Draper’s serve buckled in the sixth game under the severe pressure he was also facing.

But any thoughts Alcaraz would race away with the set proved unfounded.

More double faults and a flurry of unforced errors indicated Alcaraz’s tension, allowing Draper to break back in the ninth game and hold more confidently to level the set.

Alcaraz relieved his tension with a visceral “vamos” when he held for 6-5 and he then pounced to take the opening set.

Knowing his opponent’s physical issues, Alcaraz raised the aggression of his groundstrokes to move a break ahead at 3-0 in the second set before clinically seeing it out, prompting Draper to call time on their encounter.

“It is not the way which I want to win,” said Alcaraz.

“I’m happy to play another quarter-final here in Australia, but I am sad for Jack – he doesn’t deserve to be injured.

“I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Draper, seeded 15th, won 6-4 2-6 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8) against home hope Aleksandar Vukic in another late-night thriller.

The British number one had already quelled a partisan Australian crowd with a comeback win over Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday – and showed more of his monster mentality two days later.

Draper, 23, led by a break in the decider before Vukic – who belied his ranking of 86th in the world – refused to wilt and forced a match tie-break.

A throaty roar from Draper signalled his delight – and relief – at coming through in almost four hours just before 1am local time.

“I’m very, very proud of my efforts from the physical part of things,” said Draper, a 2024 US Open semi-finalist who is playing his first tournament of the season after a hip injury.

“I’m obviously not feeling incredibly fresh right now, but I’ll recover again. I’ll do my best to go again for another one.”

Draper, who is the only Briton left in the men’s singles, will look to end 21-year-old third seed Alcaraz’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam on Sunday.

Draper’s childhood rival Jacob Fearnley, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since turning professional in April, was beaten by German second seed Alexander Zverev earlier on Friday.

Emma Raducanu is the only Briton left in the women’s singles and plays second seed Iga Swiatek on Saturday at 00:30 GMT.

Draper, seeded 15th, twice trailed before fighting back to beat Argentine clay specialist Mariano Navone 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 in a mammoth four hours and one minute.

The 23-year-old left-hander was playing his first match since October, having had his build-up disrupted by a hip problem.

Draper insisted beforehand he was “ready to go” against 46th-ranked Navone.

But the US Open semi-finalist’s usually reliable serve was broken five times and he committed a whopping 88 unforced errors.

Nevertheless he showed character and resilience to come through, taking advantage in the final set as Navone struggled with injury.

As well as disrupting his off-season, Draper’s hip injury meant he was unable to play a warm-up event before the first Grand Slam of the year.

In a bid to regain sharpness, he played practice sets against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and world number one Jannik Sinner last week on Rod Laver Arena.

However, there is no substitute for match practice – and it showed from the start.

Draper’s footwork was not sharp, his groundstrokes not fluid and his body language did not convey much positivity.

The Briton faced break points in four of his five service games in the opening set as Navone’s solidity from the baseline drew out errors.

Gruelling service games were the last thing a player who has previously struggled in hot conditions needed.

Draper memorably threw up on the side of the court after securing his first Australian Open victory last year, although he put that down to the stress of the occasion and not the heat.

Temperatures were much cooler on this occasion, although still warm enough for Draper to keep ice towels to hand at every changeover.

Draper improved in the second set to level the match, but there continued to be momentum swings in a scrappy contest.

Navone, 23, has been ranked as high as 32nd in the world – predominantly on the strength of his clay-court pedigree.

In fact, he had only won six of his previous 22 matches on a hard court and had never even played in the Australian Open main draw.

Eventually Draper wore down his resistance and huge puff of the cheeks at the end of the match signalled his relief, before the two shared a warm hug at the net.

Draper will play either Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis or Russia’s Roman Safiullin in the second round.

The 22-year-old showed all of his youthful talent along with grit and determination to win 6-3 7-5 6-2.

He received treatment for a leg problem early in the second set, while Australian 10th seed De Minaur seemed hampered by injury issues of his own.

But Draper, playing his first match on the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium, was by far the better player as he became the first British man to reach the last four in New York since Andy Murray’s title win in 2012.

He will play world number one Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals on Friday.

“Honestly, to be out here in my first match on the biggest court in the world is a dream come true,” Draper said.

“I think he was maybe struggling which may have helped me.”

Draper delivers on huge potential

Draper’s run is beginning to bring back memories of fellow Briton Emma Raducanu’s stunning victory at the US Open three years ago.

Like Raducanu, Draper has reached the last four without losing a set, moving through the draw with ease.

But while Raducanu’s remarkable win came from nowhere, Draper’s showing comes after a year in which he has delivered on his long-heralded talent.

He was a Wimbledon runner-up as a junior and took a set off Novak Djokovic on Centre Court when he made his Grand Slam debut aged 19.

Injuries last year meant that, despite reaching the fourth round in New York, he was outside the world’s top 100 just 12 months ago.

But this year he has risen steadily, becoming British number one in June and now making his name on the biggest stage ranked 25th in the world.

After a serene run to the last eight, he had to deal with the distractions of both his own physical issues and those of his opponent, who was struggling badly by the end.

When the final point was won Draper remained remarkably calm, carefully rearranging his belongings rather than being overcome with emotion – a suggestion he feels there is more to come.

He will go into the match against Sinner or Medvedev as a huge underdog, but history suggests special things can happen to Britons in New York.

How Draper reached the last four

There were doubts about De Minaur’s fitness before the match even started after his practice session lasted just 15 minutes earlier in the day.

Appearing in his fourth Slam quarter-final, the Australian, 25, was sluggish as Draper breezed through the first set and went up an early break in the second.

As Draper clinched that advantage, De Minaur clutched his hip in a potential reoccurrence of the injury that forced him to withdraw from his quarter-final against Djokovic at Wimbledon.

The physio appeared on court at the subsequent change of ends – but that was to treat Draper rather than De Minaur, with the Briton having his upper thigh taped.

Draper did not seem too troubled and soon had five break points for a 5-2 lead, only for each to be saved by his opponent.

That began a run of three consecutive games which threatened to swing the momentum of match in the favour of a resurgent De Minaur.

At that stage it was Draper who was struggling physically but his powerful, swinging left-handed serve returned at the crucial time to halt his opponent’s momentum.

That fearsome strike helped him close out the set and a huge forehand – his other main weapon – earned another break of serve early in the third.

De Minaur mustered one last challenge a game later but after Draper’s serve again saw off two break points at 3-2, the Australian faded badly.

The final set was over in just 32 minutes to make Draper the third British man since Murray to reach a major semi-final.

He will have 48 hours to recover and treat any injury issue before attempting to do what Kyle Edmund at the 2018 Australian Open and Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon in 2022 could not – progress from the last four to the final.

The 22-year-old produced a brilliant display to beat the Czech 6-3 6-1 6-2.

Draper is the first Briton to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s singles at Flushing Meadows since Andy Murray in 2016.

“I thought I did the basics really well,” Draper told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I increased my level when I needed to and I was pretty clinical in some moments and that was it really.

“I felt like I competed really well and did what I needed to do.”

Czech Machac had won the three previous matches between the pair but, after a strong start, was outclassed by a laser-focused Draper in just one hour and 44 minutes.

With a number of big names, most notably Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, having gone out early, Draper has yet to drop a set in the tournament and has every reason to believe he can go all the way.

This was a statement performance in what has been a breakthrough year for the 6ft 4in left-hander, one that has included his maiden ATP title in Stuttgart and victory over Wimbledon champion Alcaraz at Queen’s.

He will face 10th seed Alex de Minaur next as both men bid to reach a first Grand Slam semi-final.

“I feel amazing being in the last eight,” Draper told Sky Sports.

“My first quarter-final, it means the absolute world to me. I’ve definitely felt more and more confident in myself.”

The 22-year-old’s side of the draw has been blown wide open after title favourite Carlos Alcaraz was the subject of a seismic upset in New York, losing in straight sets to world number 74 Van de Zandschulp.

The Dutchman now stands between Draper and a place in the fourth round, with the pair up second on Grandstand at Flushing Meadows.

Draper says he has taken time to reflect on some of his narrow defeats earlier in the year to avoid history repeating itself.

“I took a real look at myself. I said, ‘I need to be more aggressive in certain moments’,” the 25th seed said.

“I think by losing the matches I did, especially there was a period where I lost three or four 7-6s on the trot against good players, I really felt like these guys aren’t going to let me win the match.

“I need to do it myself, and I need to play aggressively.”

If Draper can find a way past Alcaraz’s conqueror he could face Dan Evans in an all-British meeting. Evans takes on 10th seed Alex de Minaur in the first night session match on Louis Armstrong Stadium at midnight.

Evans played the longest match in US Open history on Tuesday when he defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov in five hours and 35 minutes and he backed that up with a convincing straight-set win over Argentina’s Mariano Navone.

The 34-year-old will want to keep his 100% record against De Minaur intact, having beaten the Australian in all three of their previous encounters.

“I’ve played him a few times. I’m not sure the game style has been good for him, but it’s over five [sets], it’s totally different match,” Evans said.

“He’s obviously the favourite for that match.”

• Who else is in action on day six?

Two-time US Open champion Iga Swiatek kicks off the evening session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, which starts at 00:00 BST on Sunday.

Swiatek, who dropped just one game in her second-round win over Japan’s Ena Shibahara, takes on Russian 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

That will be followed by Daniil Medvedev, the men’s fifth seed and last year’s runner-up, continuing his bid for a second major title against Flavio Cobolli of Italy.

Earlier on the main Flushing Meadows show court, American home hope and sixth seed Jessica Pegula faces Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the world number 74 who knocked out British women’s number on Katie Boulter on Thursday.

Top seed Jannik Sinner, who could potentially face Draper or Evans in the semi-finals, will then face Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury joins up with American Rajeev Ram to play compatriot Lloyd Glasspool and his Australian partner Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the men’s doubles.

There are four other Britons also in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles action on Saturday.