The British No.1, whose previous best Grand Slam performance was a visit to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year, overpowered the tenth-seed Australian to claim a 6-3 7-5 6-2 win and book his spot in the final four.
In doing so, he also becomes the first male Brit to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray in 2012 when the Scot went on to claim his first Grand Slam.
Draper, who has yet to drop a set throughout the tournament so far, will now play either Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev on Friday for a place in the final.
‘It’s amazing. Honestly to be out here for my first match on the biggest court in the world. It’s a dream come true for me. Thank you for the support. It means a lot,’ Draper said on court after his win.
‘I think I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I’ve been in a long time. That’s where Alex has gotten me in the past. I also think he was struggling a bit with something, which may have helped me a bit.
‘But credit to Alex. He’s an amazing player and fighter. We’re gonna have many more battles to come.’
Draper was handed a huge opening in this tournament following the shock elimination of Carlos Alcaraz which blew his side of the draw wide open.
But the 22-year-old has shown superb composure up until this point and demonstrated his powerful all-round game to take full command of Wednesday’s quarter-final.
De Minaur had knocked out Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round but was clearly struggling with a hip injury that he originally picked up at Wimbledon.
Draper appeared to be dealing with fitness issues, too and had a visit from his trainer to deal with a thigh issue in the second set.
However, the World No.25 brushed off those concerns, creating break-point opportunities at will on De Minaur’s serve and holding serve with authority courtesy of 11 aces throughout the match to cruise to a three-set victory in just over two hours.
The winner of his semi-final will face the winner of the other all-American semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz.
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