Jack Draper is knocked out of Wimbledon after losing 7-5 6-7 (0-7) 2-6 3-6 to Alex de Minaur

Alex de Minaur made it a golden day for Wimbledon’s newest power couple when he defeated Britain’s Jack Draper, while girlfriend Katie Boulter watched from the stands.

But the Australian No. 19 had to use all of his street fighting skills to hold off Draper’s barrage long enough for his superior fitness to pay off.

The 20-year-old Draper has long been regarded as the greatest male talent in British tennis, but the quality of his play in the first half of this match came as a surprise. He looked exhausted towards the end as he went down 5-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-3.

It felt a bit like Andy Murray’s five-set loss to David Nalbandian in 2005, when the Scottish teenager’s talent couldn’t be matched by his cramping body. If Draper can replicate even an ounce of glory that followed that match, he will indeed have a fine career.

At 4-3 in the opening set, a brief shower of rain fell and when the roof closed thousands of fans flocked to Court 1, including Boulter, fresh from her upset of Karolina Pliskova next door at Centre.

The Wimbledon courts play faster and truer under the lights and that has been beneficial to Draper’s power play. His lefty serve and forehand are the standout shots, but his backhand last night was exceptional in both offense and defense.

The Minaur is a top-notch player with lightning feet and metronomic consistency; Lleyton Hewitt was in his support box last night and there is something from the former Wimbledon champion about the 23-year-old’s play.

But as the first set progressed, Draper defeated him. Perhaps more impressively, he stayed with him through the longer rallies that should have been the Aussie’s advantage.

At 5-5, Draper attacked on De Minaur’s serve. His left-handed forehand has something of the Rafael Nadal in the way it can either be ripped with vicious topspin or flattened.

A continuous passing shot hit down the line to lead 30-0 on De Minaur’s serve was straight out of the Spaniard’s playbook. Draper broke from there and served the set 7-5.

The pattern of the match continued into the second set: Draper dictated and De Minaur, his shirt see through with sweat, rushed behind the baseline.

Boulter nervously bit her lip in his support box as De Minaur clung, sparing five pause points without putting a gauntlet on the Draper service.

Draper admitted in Surbiton last week that his body was not ready for five-set fights. With that in mind, the tiebreak in the second set was crucial to his chances of victory. But De Minaur managed to destroy his hopes by winning love. Draper resorted to a desperate serve under the arm trailing 6-0.

From there, Draper began to visibly tire as De Minaur’s quicksilver feet grew even faster. The home player’s serve, which looked so impregnable, was now under fire almost every game.

De Minaur began to string more of his signature passes past his opponent and Boulter settled into her seat a little easier.

Draper looked shattered at the end as De Minaur galloped home to arrange a meeting with another Briton, Liam Broady.

Broady, 28, had previously called it the best of his career, beating 12th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6, 6-1 on Court 3.

It was not expected, especially as Broady lost 11 games in a row midway through the game. “I fooled you all,” the Wimbledon wildcard joked afterwards.