2024-09-05 13:15:02
When he should have already been building the foundations of his promising tennis future, Jack Draper spent long periods during the formative years of his professional career watching from the sidelines. He simply could not stay fit. His countless injury struggles meant that, while his talent has always been undeniable, for so long it was unclear if and when his body would allow it to flourish.
Finally, Draper has arrived at the highest levels of the sport. The 22-year-old continued his supreme breakout run in New York by outplaying an ailing Alex de Minaur, the world No 10, maintaining his focus and his composure under pressure to reach his first grand slam semi-final at the US Open with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Five matches into his New York odyssey, Draper, the 25th seed, has still not dropped a set and has conceded just 36 games, the fifth fewest dropped en route to the US Open semi-finals over the last 40 years. In the first grand slam tournament since Andy Murray’s retirement at the Olympics, Draper has become the first British man to reach the semi-finals of the US Open since Murray, his friend and idol, won his maiden grand slam title here in 2012.
Draper will now break into the world’s top 20 for the first time in his career, an achievement only attained by nine British men in the history of the ATP tour. He will face either his good friend Jannik Sinner, the top seed, or the 2021 champion and fifth seed Daniil Medvedev.
“This is not like an overnight thing for me,” said Draper. “I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come. I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.”
Standing between Draper and his first major semi-final was one of the best defensive players in the world. De Minaur’s ability to lengthen points and turn his matches into painful physical battles has made this an extremely tough matchup for Draper, who had lost all three of their past meetings. Having only faced superior top-five opponents in his three prior quarter-finals, this was also the biggest match of the 25-year-old’s career.
As De Minaur looked accordingly tense at the beginning, Draper was determined to dictate on his terms, pushing the Australian behind the baseline with his heavy topspin forehand, with which he can sometimes be too tentative, and then searching for opportunities to dictate with it. After striking his forehand with authority throughout the set, Draper just about dragged himself over the line despite nerves and a low first-serve percentage.
Having secured the opening set, Draper further relaxed and dominated the baseline, breaking serve for a 2-1 lead. But it gradually became clear that De Minaur was in physical pain. Before the US Open, the Australian had not competed since Wimbledon, where he had injured his hip and withdrawn before a quarter‑final against Novak Djokovic. Despite looking in good shape during the tournament, he was clearly wincing after strenuous points from early in the second set onwards. “I wish I felt better. Let’s just put it that way,” he said afterwards. “It’s tough. It’s a big opportunity. It’s a big chance.”
Across the net, Draper had his own physical issues. After stretching his leg between points early in set two, he took a medical timeout at 2-1 and had his right thigh wrapped by the trainer. Although he occasionally seemed to be walking tentatively, Draper’s movement was not significantly affected. “At the end of the day it didn’t get any worse, and I felt good towards the end,” said Draper.
With his confidence high and De Minaur struggling but fighting on, this became a significant mental challenge for Draper. He needed to maintain his focus, take his opportunities and not allow De Minaur to find a foothold in the match.
After failing to secure a double break in set two, despite generating five break points, the momentum very nearly shifted as a nervous Draper lost three consecutive games from 4-2 and served to stay in the second set at 4-5. He responded brilliantly, producing some of his best serving of the day to hold before rolling through two more games. After taking a two‑set lead, he refused to let up and he played with clear-minded, relentless aggression until the contest was over and he suddenly stood just two matches away from winning a grand slam title.
“I kept on believing in myself, kept on working,” said Draper. “[Injuries] are hard moments. This is not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, and this is an honour to be in this position. This is why I work so hard, so I’ve got to just keep it going in my stride.”
