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Jack Draper is ready to achieve more “amazing things” after reaching the US Open semi-finals.
In the first grand slam since Andy Murray ended his stellar career, Draper has announced himself as the new star of British tennis and is taking New York by storm.
His 6-3 7-5 6-2 win in the quarter-final against world number 10 Alex De Minaur saw him become the first British man to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows since Murray lifted the title in 2012.
His run here has similar vibes to that of another British success story when Emma Raducanu shocked the world by winning in 2021.
Draper is eyeing a fairytale of his own but believes their paths to competing for a maiden grand slam title cannot be compared.
“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me,” he said. “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.
“It’s amazing. On the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true for me.
“I’ve got amazing people around me, I’ve got a good team. I don’t feel kind of overawed by the situations I’ve been in. It’s not getting to me in any sort of way.”
The first few years of Draper’s career had been hit by injury and fears were raised when Draper took a medical timeout midway through the second set and had his right hamstring strapped up.
The 22-year-old has said he was concerned but the problem did not worsen.
“I felt something on set point in the first set,” he said. “I was a little bit worried about it at the time but then I played two sets on it.
“I think one of the things this year which has helped me to sort of be better is I’m mentally a lot better.
“I feel like I’m aware that I’m obviously playing so much tennis and competing so much and putting my body through so much that I’m going to pick up little niggles and injuries and I’ve got to just keep on going.
“At the end of the day it didn’t get any worse, and I felt good towards the end. I was happy it didn’t turn into a problem.”
He has taken advantage of Carlos Alcaraz’s early exit – the Spaniard was his slated opponent in the third round before crashing out – and swept aside all to have come before him.
He has won 15 straight sets en route to the last four, but he will certainly get his toughest test yet in the last four.
He will certainly get his toughest test yet in the last four as he will meet world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who defeated former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4 victory.
Sinner is now the heavy favourite, not only to beat Draper in Friday’s semi-final, but also to claim a second grand slam title.
But Draper is very much in the conversation after his breakthrough grand slam. On Friday, he will take his shot at making a first final.
“It’s amazing. On the biggest court in the world, it’s a dream come true for me,” the British No 1 said in his on-court interview.
“I think I played a solid match and I feel the best fitness-wise that I’ve felt in a long time.
“I think that’s where Alex has got me in the past. I also think he was struggling a little bit today with something and that helped me a little bit.
“But credit to Alex, he’s an unbelievable player and fighter, and we’re going to have many more battles to come.”
For De Minaur, whose girlfriend is British No 1 Katie Boulter, it is another quarter-final exit at a grand slam and the Australian – who withdrew from Wimbledon in July due to a hip injury –appeared to be struggling throughout.
There were reports of De Minaur cutting his practice session short before the match and he was certainly not at his best in the opening exchanges.
Draper took full advantage, with two breaks of serve allowing him to take the opening set – although he missed five set points before eventually whipping a crosscourt forehand home.
The 22-year-old, whose early career had been stunted by injury problems, got another break early in the second set but then raised fears when he had a medical timeout for treatment on his hamstring.
However, he continued to dominate and had five break points for a 5-2 lead in the second set, only for De Minaur to find his renowned fighting spirit and level at 5-5.
Draper was not in the mood to let it slip, though, and immediately broke back before serving the set out.
De Minaur was under constant threat and Draper moved to finish the Australian off at 2-2, winning four successive games to reach the last four.
PA
