British tennis number one Jack Draper has cruised into the US Open semi-finals for the first time in his career – where he’ll face world number one Jannik Sinner.
The 22-year-old is the first British male to reach this stage in the Grand Slam since Andy Murray in 2012, who went on to win it.
And he’s done it without dropping a set.
“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me,” Draper said after reaching the final four at Flushing Meadows.
“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.”
It might not be an overnight thing, but the 25th seed has had a meteoric rise of sorts.
Here’s everything you need to know about Draper, from his career so far, to his remarkable US Open run and his relationship with his next opponent.
Background and career so far
The 6ft 4 left-hander from Sutton turned pro in 2018, having been introduced to the sport by his mother, Nicky, a former British junior champion.
She took him to his first training session at the Sutton Tennis and Squash Club, where she was a coach, when he was just six.
Tennis is in his blood on both sides; his father, Roger, was a talented amateur tennis player and chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) from 2006 to 2013.
Draper really started making his mark in 2021 with impressive victories over Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik at the 2021 Cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club.
He went on to win his first ATP Challenger title in Forli at the beginning of the 2022 season, then became the youngest Briton to win three ATP Challenger singles titles at the age of 20 – lifting three trophies in two months.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Draper, as injuries have stunted his progress.
It’s perhaps the reason his Grand Slam record up until this US Open had only seen him reach a fourth round once – in the US Open in 2023.
But his eggs haven’t all been in the tennis basket – he’s also a professional model for international modelling agency IMG.
Overcoming the injuries
Speaking about his setbacks after the huge quarter-final win, Draper revealed there were times where he’d suffered major doubts over his career.
“I’ve had times when I’ve maybe thought to stop or, ‘Am I cut out for this sport? Am I really good enough?’ And all these sorts of stuff,” he said.
“I think it helps the fact that I’ve been in a lot of kind of low points already in my career where I’ve had injuries, I’ve had setbacks.
“I kept on believing in myself, kept on working. Those 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.”
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His US Open run comes after some better times for Draper off the Grand Slam stage, as he claimed his first ATP title at the Stuttgart Open in June, surpassing Cameron Norrie to become the new British number one.
Before that, he had reached ATP finals in Sofia and Adelaide.
His US Open run comes after he crashed out of Wimbledon to Norrie in the round of 64 in July.
The US Open run so far
Draper’s journey to the semis has never looked in doubt, having eased past early opponents Zhang Zhizhen, Facundo Diaz Acosta and Botic van de Zandschulp without dropping a set.
It was thrilling for his fans but, with respect to his opponents, perhaps no surprise given the form Draper is in.
His quarter-final win was more impressive, coming against world number 10 Alex de Minaur.
He swept the 25-year-old Australian aside in a dominant performance, winning 6-3 7-5 6-2.
He bossed things from the start against an off-colour De Minaur, with reports coming through before the match that the Australian had cut his earlier practice session short.
Draper took full advantage, with two breaks of serve allowing him to take the opening set – although he missed five set points before eventually claiming the sixth when whipping a cross-court forehand home.
Next up: Jannik Sinner
It’s no secret that the world number one is favourite not just going into the semi-final, but also to win the whole tournament, having just beaten former champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-final.
It would be the Italian’s first US Open, but he already has one Grand Slam, having taken the Australian Open earlier this year.
Speaking after his quarter-final win, Draper said he considered Sinner a “good friend”.
“We send each other messages in good moments, bad moments,” he said in his news conference.
“It’s a tough sport to play when you’re a young guy. You’re on the road, you’re playing such a relentlessly intense sport, both physically, emotionally, and it’s difficult, we haven’t got many friends. So to sort of have the support of someone who’s going through it themselves is really big.”
The pair played doubles together just a few weeks ago during the Canadian Open.
“Huge respect for Jannik and it was amazing to play doubles with him in Montreal,” Draper said.
“I think we played great doubles together. I’d never won a doubles match on the tour, so to play obviously with the number one player in the world was amazing and I definitely learned a lot about playing doubles and had a lot of fun with him.”
‘Murray is there for me if I need it’
With Draper the first British man since Murray to reach a US Open semi-final, he is now hoping to follow in his footsteps and win the thing, just as the recently retired great did 12 years ago.
But Draper says he’s yet to hear from Murray.
“I think he’s enjoying his retirement,” he said, adding: “I have spoken to Andy a few times in the past about obviously playing big Grand Slam matches and all these types of things.
“I feel like when people you respect give you advice, it’s obviously always good, but at the end of the day, it’s their experience.
“I think it’s important to live these situations yourself and understand it for yourself, because everyone reacts differently to different pressures, different situations, different emotions.
“I know Andy is there for me if I need it, but at the same time, I feel pretty relaxed. I feel pretty good, and I’m just taking it one day at a time, and looking to keep on going forward.”
When is the semi-final – and who could he face in the final?
The final tie is taking place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium tomorrow – though the time hasn’t been set yet.
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If Draper wins it, he’ll have to face an American on home turf in the final in either 12th seed Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe, who just won his third consecutive US Open quarter-final.
It would be a challenging experience for Draper in front of a crowd that will be keen to see an American in the final for the first time since 2006.
But don’t put it past Britain’s number one, who says: “I have more levels to go.”
