Just weeks after Andy Murray hung up his racquet, Jack Draper continues to remind British tennis fans that the future is bright.
The 22-year-old lefty breezed past 10th seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday evening at the US Open to reach his maiden Grand Slam semi-final. Draper produced a display full of booming serves and heavy, spinning groundstrokes to earn a two-hour, seven-minute victory and book a last-four meeting with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
“It’s amazing, honestly. To be out here for my first match on the biggest court in the world, honestly, it’s a dream come true for me,” said Draper, who is the first Briton to reach the semi-finals in New York since Murray's 2012 title run, in his on-court interview. “All the support means the world.”
Yet to drop a set. ❄️@jackdraper0 downs de Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 to advance into the #USOpen semi-finals!@usopen pic.twitter.com/02J7v9bMKG
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 4, 2024Draper, who has not dropped a set across his five matches so far in New York, converted six of 20 break points he earned against De Minaur in his maiden major quarter-final. He is just the fourth Briton overall to reach a men’s singles semi-final at the US Open in the Open Era, after Greg Rusedski (1997), Tim Henman (2004) and Murray (2008, 2011-12).
“I think I played a solid match,” reflected Draper inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I feel the best fitness-wise that I’ve been in a long time, and I think that is where Alex has sort of got me in the past. I also think he was maybe struggling a little bit today with something, which might have helped me a little bit. But credit to Alex. He’s an amazing fighter and an unbelievable player. We’re going to have many more battles to come.”
The Briton is now 30-17 for the 2024 season. He began his year by reaching the championship match at an ATP 250 in Adelaide before defeating Matteo Berrettini to win his first ATP Tour title in June in Stuttgart. He also arrived in New York in good form having upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August.
Draper started aggressively in his bid for a first victory in four Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with De Minaur. The Briton broke his opponent’s serve in the opening game and that set the tone for much of the match as Draper’s ability to pull De Minaur around the court proved crucial.
Competing in his first singles event since Wimbledon due to a hip injury, De Minaur appeared to aggravate that area again during the point with which Draper clinched the first set. Almost simultaneously, Draper began stretching out a niggle himself and later had his right upper leg wrapped by the physio at 2-1 in the second set. Yet it did not hamper the Briton in his march to victory.
Although he went on to let a 4-2 lead slip in the second set, Draper produced a classy return game for another, decisive break in the 11th game. The third set was more straightforward, as Draper dropped just six points on serve before wrapping a commanding win that improved his record against Top 10 opponents to 4-11.
Regardless of what happens in his semi-final, Draper’s run at Flushing Meadows has already ensured the Briton will rise to a career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings after the US Open. He is currently up five spots to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, and he could rise as high as 14th by reaching the championship match.
Did You Know?
Draper won his lone Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner in 2021 at the ATP 500 at The Queen’s Club, where the first-round victory doubled as the lefty’s maiden tour-level match win. Sinner was then ranked World No. 23 and Draper was No. 309. Now they will go toe to toe on one of the biggest stages in tennis.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]